US Pro Nationals: EF Pro Cycling dominates the races, netting 3 titles and 6 medals

The 2024 U.S. National Road Race Championships concluded on Sunday after five days of action-packed racing in Charleston, West Virginia, the event’s first new host city in six years. 

The new host brought new courses, including the toughest road race course in recent history, and a whole bunch of new champions. In the Elite categories, team EF Pro Cycling stole the show as they claimed six medals, three national titles included.

Here’s how the racing unfolded.

A calm and collected Faulkner powers to her first title

Fresh off her stage win at the Vuelta Femenina, Kristen Faulkner (EF Education Cannondale) gave a powerful performance that saw her solo to her first national title.

Despite Cynisca Cycling's efforts to control most of the race, EF Education Cannondale ended up on the top and last step of the podium after showcasing some masterful race tactics in the final laps. 

“To have the American jersey is really special; I have never had it before. I like the pink but the one thing better is the stars and stripes," commented Faulkner post-race.

1. Kristen Faulkner (EF Education Cannondale)

2. Ruth Edwards (Human Powered Health)

3. Coryn Labecki (EF Education Cannondale)

How the racing unfolded

The all-new race course consisted of a technical 13-mile circuit with a testing 1,120 feet of elevation gain each lap on two major climbs. A steep climb right out of town and a second climb near the end of the lap is where most of the action would occur. Defending champion Chloe Dygert was notably absent from the field, meaning a new champion would be crowned today.  

The race was animated from the gun and never let up with riders almost constantly attacking and the peloton getting whittled down lap after lap. The damage in the opening laps was largely caused by race-favorite Lauren De Crescenzo (Factor/The Feed/Castelli/Maxxis/PERC) on the climbs and by Cynisca Cycling which set a brisk pace on the front. Some riders were able to use the descents and flats in between the climbs to regain contacts but the mass field of 95 starters was diminished to around 40 after only one lap. 

Some tried their luck on the flats but these were quickly reeled in, and soon, the pace on the climbs would bring the lead group down to just Lauren Stephens (Cynisca Cycling), Ruth Edwards (Human Powered Health), Faulkner, Coryn Labecki (EF Education Cannondale), Nicole Steinmetz (Cynisca), Heidi Franz (Le Col Wahoo) and and De Crescenzo. 

Franz escaped from this group on lap 4, and quickly put in significant time on the leaders who at first appeared happy to leave her out to dry. Ahead of the second climb of the fifth lap, however, the chase group reeled Franz back in and the attacking continued. 

Faulkner went flying down the descent opening a gap that only Edwards managed to bridge. The two immediately agreed to work together and off they went. 

Behind, Stephens took up the chase with Labecki getting a free ride on her wheel to back up to her teammate, an ideal situation for the EF Education team. 

“We really wanted to make sure the climbs were hard enough to create a selection but we wanted to make sure we kept Coryn in there as long as possible,” Faulkner said post-race. “We wanted to keep two people in there as long as possible.”

And while Labecki stayed out of the wind, Stephens would soon get help from teammate Steinmetz and De Cescenzo. The quartet entered the final lap with a 49-second deficit and wasn't gaining much ground with only the Cynisca duo working to chase down the leaders.

In the front, Edwards was loosing steam and Faulkner dropped her breakaway companion on the last climb, soloing to the finish where she crossed the line 55 seconds ahead of Edwards to claim her first stars-and-stripes jersey.

“I felt pretty confident on the climbs  that I could attack on the last climb,” said Faulkner in a post-race interview. “I didn't want to take [Edwards] to the line."

Behind Edwards, Labecki would take the final spot on the podium as she outsprinted Stephens and De Crescenzo giving EF Education Cannondale a 1-3 finish after a dominant race.

Cynisca's Steinmetz, who worked so much throughout the race, finished in sixth place, good enough to claim the U23 championship title.

1-3 again for EF Pro Cycling in the men's race

The EF Education-Easypost team also stole the show in the men's race. The duo of Neilson Powless and Sean Quinn did everything in their power to fatigue race-favorite Brandon McNulty with a constant stream of attacks and counter-attacks. Even so, McNulty was still there as the sprint for the finish opened but the pink's team tactics paid off with Quinn besting McNulty at the line to claim the stars-and-stripes jersey. And in a repeat from the women's race, Powless rounded out the podium to give the EF Education program its sixth medal of the week. 

1. Sean Quinn (EF Education-Easypost)

2. Brandon McNulty (UAE Emirates)

3. Neilson Powless (EF Education-Easypost)

How the racing unfolded:

Again, the racing started of hot with Colby Simmons (Visma-Lease a bike - U23 team) making the most of his front-row call-up to put on the pressure up the first climb. Together with fellow U23-rider Brody McDonald (Aevolo), the duo managed to string the peloton out into a single file just five minutes into the 130-mile road race.  

This made way to the first break of the day, consisting of Simmons, Gabriel Shipley (Aevolo) and Sam Boardman (Project Echelon). Carpenter (L39ion of Los Angeles), McGill (Project Echelon), Neilson Powless (EF Education Easypost) Granigan, (Miami Blazers), Alexey Vermeulen (ENVE/Factor), Stephen Bassett (Project Echelon) and Gavin Hlady (Aevolo). The break of 10 quickly distanced the rest of the field, earning a gap of up to 2:30 with 6 laps and 77 miles of racing remaining.

The break contained some serious firepower and caused some worry in the peloton. Left out from the break, Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) attacked up a climb and was joined by former national champion Kyle Murphy (L39ion of Los Angeles), Quinn and Kieran Haug (CS Velo) to form a chase group. 

A few riders from the lead group were swept up by the chase that managed to make contact with the leaders to from a formidable group of 12 from where the day's winner would surely emerge. This final selection contained Haug, Carpenter, Murphy, McNulty, Vermeulen, Hlady, Simmons, Quinn, Powless, Bassett, Granigan and McGill with 5 laps remaining. Notably, Tyler Stites (Project Echelon) last year’s podium finisher and a race-favorite was nowhere to be seen.

With the selection made, the main field as well as the lead group relaxed a little, taking feeds from support vehicles and fining a new rhythm across the flats. 

Granigan attacked leading into the next climb but the counter from Quinn shattered the breakaway with only Powless, McNulty, Hlady and McGill being able to follow, leaving the rest of the break to chase. Hlady would last a few more miles but would eventually get dropped from the front group.

The situation looked perfect for EF Education-Easypost with two riders in the four-man breakaway until Quinn suffered a front flat tire and had to stop to get a new wheel. At the front. McGill and McNulty were certainly not waiting around for Quinn to rejoin his EF Education teammate. McNulty took the front and set a brisk tempo up the next climb, hoping to further distance Quinn. Quinn prevailed, however, with a fast run up the hill he rejoined the leaders and set the EF Education duo up to repeat the performance of the female teammates earlier in the day.

In the bell lap, Quinn again showed off his climbing prowess and started to distance the other three riders. McNulty responded, pulling the others with him as he chased Quinn over the top of the climb. McGill started to drop, however, desperately trying to hang onto the WorldTour riders' wheels. 

With just 10 miles remaining the EF riders continued taking turns to put McNulty under pressure but McNulty glued himself to their wheels. As the trio reached the final climb, Powless managed to get a small gap on McNulty, again forcing the UAE Emirates rider to chase while Quinn hung onto his wheel, ready to counter once the catch was made.

Still, the trio entered the finale together and the cat-and-mouse games began. With less than 1km left, Powless distanced himself off the back to wind up a surprise attack but again, McNulty was quick to respond and a three-up sprint ensued. Quinn later commented that after Powless' many attacks, he was a tad late in his sprint yet managed to nip McNulty at the line in a photo finish.

Time Trial: McNulty and Knibb punch their tickets for the Paris Olympics

There was more than a gold medal at stake in the U.S. National Time Trial championships on Wednesday.  Winners of the race would make the national selection for the Olympic time trail in Paris later this summer. 

In the women's race, defending champion Chloe Dygert was notably missing as the field rolled from the ramp one by one to tackle the 20.6-mile, mostly flat course. 

Last year's newcomer, triathlete Taylor Knibb (Trek Factory), returned to double-up her Olympic inclusion. Already part of the U.S. national triathlon selection, the 26-year-old bested Kristen Faulkner (EF Education Cannondale) by just 11 seconds to punch her ticket to Paris a second time.

And former world time trial champion Amber Neben proved that even at age 49, she's still a master of the discipline, landing on the podium yet again in third place.  

In the men's race, Brandon McNulty (UAE Emirates) defending his stars-and-stripes skinsuit in dominant fashion, finishing nearly a minute faster than silver medalist Tyler Stites of Project Echelon. His victory also comes with automatic inclusion for ths US national team at the Paris Olympics. 

Neilson Powless (EF Education-Easypost) rounded out the podium just 4 seconds behind Stites. 

The Criterium: Labecki earns her 74th national title

The new venue presented a six-corner criterium along the Kanawha River in downtown Charleston with a torrential downpour for added excitement. 

In the rain, the women's race started with a steady pace yet free of any real fireworks until Fount Cycling rider Elizabeth Dixon took off, going solo lap after lap after lap. For 30 minutes, Dixon time trialed her way around the six-corner course while the field seemed unperturbed. Dixon entered the bell lap solo and still, there was no real action from the pack. Watching their opportunity for another title slip away, L39ion of Los Angeles eventually ramped up the pace but it appeared to be a little too late. But then, last year's winner Coryn Labecki (EF Education Cannondale) took off on a last-ditch yet massive sprint and managed to catch Dixon at the line to earn her 74th national title.

Dixon would hold on for second place ahead of Kendall Ryan (L39ion of Los Angeles) who had to made do with bronze.

Nature gave the men's field an extra contestant delivering driving rain and low visibility for the evening race. Project Echelon, a heavily watched team, rode a dominant race with the whole team controlling the front, allowing no breakaway off the front for any dangerous amount of time. 

After several crashes on the slippery roads, the race looked to be headed toward a field sprint with Project Echolon leading out the peloton. But with two laps to go, Project Echelon rider Sam Boardman, who had been sitting in third wheel, crashed and took his teammate with him and disrupting the pack behind them. 

The remaining Echelon riders, Stephen Bassett and Brendan Rhim, acted quickly, switching from leadout functions to a two-man team time trial. Turning misfortune into opportunity, Bassett and Rhim crossed the finish line first, securing the gold and silver medals. 

Scott McGill won the field sprint for third, thereby giving Project Echelon a podium sweep.