Winners of 2024 Women U23, Men Elite Professional Road Race Championship

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — Here are the winners of the Women U23 and Men Elite Professional Road Race Championship.

The women kicked off the final day of cycling in the 6 day long National Championships with their 78-mile race across Charleston.

The race was neck and neck until the last lap, when Homer, Alaska native Kristen Faulkner took a commanding lead and never looked back.

Faulkner won the gold medal with a time of 3:29:38, 55 seconds ahead of second place winner Ruth Edwards who clocked in at 3:30:34. Third place went to Coryn Labecki, who finished with a time of 3:35:17.

13 News spoke with Faulkner after being crowned the 2024 Elite Women’s Road Race National Champion, and she was on cloud nine.

“I feel really good, actually. I’m not tired yet, I might be tired later but I’m still on adrenaline and feel a little euphoric. I feel great,” said Faulkner.

Faulkner may not be from Charleston, but she’s celebrating her win like a real local.

“Maybe have some of that West Virginia Bourbon tonight. And I already had Dem Two Brothers barbecue chicken immediately after the race, so that was my celebration,” said Faulkner.

2024 US Professional Road Race Championship – RR Women’s U23 Results

To see the full results of this race, click here .

For the Elite Men’s Road Race, it was 24-year-old Sean Quinn who edged out two other cyclist in a nail-biting finish.

Quinn finished first with a time of 5:15:52. Second place went to Brandon McNulty, and the bronze medal went to Neilson Powless. They both finished mere inches behind Quinn.

13 News spoke with Quinn after his nail-biting victory, and he had a long list of people to thank.

“I really have to just thank everyone who helped me. I really didn’t get this alone. It starts with Nielson, (his cycling teammate representing EF-Education-Easy Post Cycling), all the staff here, my parents and my friends back home,” said Quinn.

2024 US Professional Road Race Championship – RR Men’s Elite Results

To see the full results of this race, click here .

Charleston Mayor Amy Goodwin was awarding the medals to every cyclist who made it to the podium, and she said that Charleston saw a major economic boost these past 6 days.

“The economic impact is going to be monumental, but even more so, we now have literally thousands of people that have come from all across the country, the world, who are going back saying Charleston, West Virginia is cool, it’s fun, it’s a bikers dream. That is what is so important to us,” said Mayor Goodwin.

U.S.A. Cycling signed a 5-year contract to host their Pro Road National Championships in Charleston, so if you missed it this year you’ll still have plenty more chances to catch all the action.

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