Members of the Astana Pro cycling team take a turn during team time trial training for the UCI Road World Championships in Richmond, Va., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – Professional cycling is riding into West Virginia’s Capital City starting next year.
According to the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau, the City of Charleston is set to host the USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships for the next five years. Officials say the athletes will compete for the gold on the roads and landscapes in and around Charleston to showcase the natural beauty of the Mountain State.
The first event will take place between May 15 and May 19, 2024. For that event, the winners of the Elite Men’s and Women’s Time Trial events will earn a very special, coveted prize – automatic qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics!
The USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships brings elite and up-and-coming cyclists together to compete for national titles. Some of the events in the championships include the professional Road Race, Time Trial and Criterium. The event will also include Under 23 and Junior 17-18 age categories.
Officials with USA Cycling say the goal is to elevate the Union Cycliste Internationale, the international governing body for sports cycling, categories to a national stage in the U.S.
“It’s been 20 years since we’ve seen this level of performance by American riders in the European peloton,” said Brendan Quirk, USA Cycling’s President and CEO. “This makes it the perfect time for USA Cycling to really invest in Pro Road Nationals and make it the ultimate week of road racing for American riders at all levels of the developmental pathway – Professional, U23, and Junior 17-18.”
With a spot in the Olympics up for grabs in 2024, organizers and the Charleston CVB say next May’s event is expected to draw in top-tier riders including Olympians, rising stars and World Tour professionals.
“Snowshoe Mountain hosts the UCI mountain Bike World Cup every year. You know, that’s a big deal in the mountain biking world. So now you take that mountain biking component at snowshoe and pair it with the road racing that you’re going to see in Charleston for five years. West Virginia is now really in what’s, without exaggeration, kind of the epicenter of cycling in the United States,” said Tim Brady, President/CEO of the Charleston Convention & Visitors Bureau.
