CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The City of Charleston will become the epicenter of professional cycling for the next five years.
Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin joined together with Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau officials and area cyclists Wednesday morning to announce the arrival of the USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships that’s set to be held in the city from May 15 – 19, 2024. This will be the first of a series of yearly championships as part of the USA Cycling national event expected to take place until 2028.
Goodwin said this event is only continuing Charleston’s recent path of being host to national sports championships.
“When we started our relationship with folks from USA Table Tennis to USA Volleyball, this was the next best transition,” Goodwin said.
She went on to say that the rural, rugged landscape the Mountain State has to offer is what has gotten quite the draw over the last several years.
“They call us the mountain state for a reason, we have more trees than we do people, but by the way, that is what is attractive to this organization, the terrain that we have, our beautiful scenery that we have,” said Goodwin.
President and CEO of Charleston’s CVB Tim Brady said this makes the next major sporting event opportunity to leave a significant impact on the region, and it will require all of the volunteers it can get.
“This event is an exciting opportunity to showcase our city. It’s going to take a group effort and, so far, the cycling community has responded with incredible enthusiasm,” said Brady.
The event will draw in national elite cyclists, from Olympians to World Tour professionals alike, as well as up-and-coming and rising stars in the cycling community, and just two months ahead of the Summer Olympic Games. The cyclists will compete in the professional Road Race, Time Trial and Criterium race categories.
The winners of the Elite Men’s and Women’s Time Trial events at the Pro Road Championships will automatically be qualified to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games set for July 26 – August 11.
A local avid cyclist Ted Armbrecht joined the city and the CVB in making the announcement Wednesday, and he said the magnitude of the event even reaches international levels.
“I hope people understand that these are the best cyclists that the United States have to offer coming to Charleston, West Virginia,” Armbrecht told MetroNews. “These are pro cyclists racing in the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia, these are the best of the best that we have to offer coming here.”
Armbrecht said it’s not only an opportunity for the local community to see what professional road racing is all about and to showcase the terrain, but it also shows those coming from across the country what West Virginia has to offer in cycling.
“West Virginia is a fabulous place for cycling, the roads are great, the terrains with its ups and downs and curves, it’s just a fabulous place to bike,” he said.
Armbrecht said mountain biking along with road and gravel biking has risen in national popularity over the past recent years. USA Cycling is the national governing body for the sport, overseeing all of categories of cycling.
Goodwin said USA Cycling wouldn’t have seen any opportunities here just a few years ago before she stepped into the mayor’s office, however, as she said her office has worked to double the road paving projects to make such investments as this possible.
“The end in mind was the thing we were thinking about, how can we attract businesses, how can we attract competitions and people to the city of Charleston,” Goodwin said. “So, it’s still about critical infrastructure investment, it’s and event, but we got this event because we are not only investing in critical infrastructure, we operating things differently, as well.”
Goodwin said she and her office has worked to strategically put Charleston on the map as a destination location for entertainment and sports events.