Roadies, rejoice! For the third year in a row, the USA Cycling Professional Road National Championships are coming back to the streets of Charleston for a weekend of two-wheeled action.
The championships take place across three main events. Time trials challenge riders to complete sections with the fastest time. The criterium has hungry racers competing neck-and-neck for an hour of laps around a 1-mile downtown course. Finally, a road race pushes the peloton to the limit on brutal hill climbs up steep streets around the Kanawha Valley.
“The criterium races are incredibly compelling—the speed, the strategy, the repetition of laps that allow you to watch tactics unfold in real time,” says Michael Basile, a Charleston local and managing member of Spilman Thomas & Battle. He stumbled upon the 2024 criterium race while walking to work and was so enthralled that he signed the firm on as this year’s presenting sponsor.
Lucas Bourgoyne won the 2024 men’s professional criterium and is amped up to return to Charleston to defend his title. “It was electric. The course was just packed with people going nuts,” he says. “It makes us excited to come back to West Virginia, because the community really shows up.”
In 2025, 422 riders from 49 states competed. Forty-six national champions were crowned with top honors. Racers are grouped into three age classes: juniors, under age 23, and elite—the veteran pros. The event was expanded in 2025 to include paracyclists.
Photographed by Perry Bennett
While the event is an up-and-coming favorite for Charlestonians and beyond, it’s also an economic boon for the Mountain State’s largest city. According to the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), the 2025 event had an economic impact of $6.9 million, a 50% increase over spending from 2024—and that number is expected to increase as the event gains traction.
“We love seeing people get excited about cycling, and this event shines a big spotlight on Charleston as a premier cycling destination on the East Coast,” says Charleston CVB president Tim Brady. “The feedback from riders has been overwhelmingly positive. They love the course and the hospitality from the fans.”
This year’s USA Cycling Professional Road National Championships are scheduled for June 16–21, so be sure to pencil in those dates and start learning some cycling lexicon to shout during the fan-favorite criterium race.
