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Lidl-Trek star Quinn Simmons 3-peats ahead of Tour de France and mountain biker Kate Courtney surprises the roadies at the US Cycling National Championships.
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Courtney, left, and Simmons brought home national titles Sunday. (Photo: USA Cycling/Instagram)
Kate Courtney and her road racing experiment just got a lot more interesting after winning U.S. nationals.
The former world XCO mountain bike champion Courtney (She Sends Racing) stunned a peloton full of roadies Sunday to win the 2026 U.S. Cycling National Championships in Charleston, WV.
After a wild, attack-riddled race, Courtney sprinted ahead of road veteran Lauren Stephens (Aegis x Leaders of Enchantment) with 700 meters to go. Stephens’ teammate Grace Arlandson rounded out the podium in third at U.S. nationals.
“I am new to the game, so I had to be both smart and strong to try to pull this one off, and it just means the world to me,” Courtney said.
Everything came down to the final lap. Paige Onweller had been off the front alone for more than 70km when a determined chase group finally made its move in the final lap.
Stephens — who’s been cleaning up all spring between road and gravel racing — and Courtney worked together to bridge across to catch and pass Onweller, who held on for sixth.
Knowing a straight up sprint against the more experienced Stephens was a gamble, Courtney decided to move first and jumped with about 700m to go.
“I think I have seven or eight silver medals from some national championships on a mountain bike, so I know what it feels like to win at this race and to come up short, and it’s just something really special and you got to celebrate it,” she said.
Two-time defending road champion Kristen Faulkner did not race this week after what she described as “travel chaos.”
It’s a huge win for Courtney, who will now wear the Stars and Stripes jersey on road races to go along with her current rainbow jersey in mountain bike marathon.
Courtney’s been mixing it up with road racing the past few months, racing a stint with the U.S. road team in Europe, where she won a stage at the Tour de Feminin in the Czech Republic in May.
Elite women’s US road national championships results Quinn Simmons 3-peats ahead of Tour de FranceQuinn Simmons powered to a third U.S. national road title in four years, just weeks before the 2026 Tour de France.
The Lidl-Trek star soloed to victory to cap the 2026 U.S. national road championships.
The Coloradan fired off three imaginary rounds from a pistol before raising three fingers in celebration to make his third-straight national crown.
“It’s a special feeling and I love racing in this jersey in the biggest races,” Simmons said. “I’m happy to be flying the flag all of July again.”
Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Emirates-XRG) came through for silver while Larry Warbasse (Tudor Pro Cycling), second in the time trial earlier this week at nationals, crossed the line third for bronze.
Simmons made the trip home after winning a stage at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes earlier this month, a result expected to punch his ticket to another Tour de France.
The race was fast from the gun, with Modern Adventure using its 12-rider squad to animate the racing, but every move was shut down as the peloton refused to give an inch.
The decisive attack came on lap nine when Simmons surged clear on the climb up Wertz and never looked back.
Ashlin Barry (Visma-Lease a Bike), who won the U23 title the day before, kicked to fourth. Tyler Stites led Modern Adventure with fifth.
Elite men’s US road national championships resultsOlympian Taylor Knibb powered to victory earlier this week in the elite women’s time trial nationals, crushing the 33.4km two-lap course.
Knibb, a two-time Olympic mixed relay triathlete silver medalist, delivered a dominant second half to win the national crown by 45 seconds.
Emily Ehrlich settled for silver after a strong ride, while Paige Onweller held on for bronze.
Knibb, a three-time Ironman 70.3 World Champion, won the national TT title in 2024 to earn her spot at the Paris Olympic Games, where she competed in both road racing and triathlon.
Maybe she’s already thinking about LA28.
Results:
1. Taylor Knibb (Boulder, Colo.)
2. Emily Ehrlich (Slater, S.C.; Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY28)
3. Paige Onweller (Bella Vista, Ark.)
Artem Shmidt defended his elite men’s time trial title on the 33.4km course.
The 22-year-old Netcompany-Ineos rider was the final starter and delivered the fastest ride of the day, stopping the clock in 38:21 to snatch back-to-back national championships.
Larry Warbasse set the early benchmark with a time of 38:32 and spent much of the afternoon in the hot seat after his strong ride.
His Tudor Pro Cycling teammate Will Barta threatened the lead after posting one of the fastest intermediate splits of the day, but finished third.
Results:
1. Artem Shmidt (Cumming, Ga.; Ineos Grenadiers)
2. Lawrence Warbasse (Traverse, Mich.; Tudor Pro Cycling Team)
3. William Barta (Boise, Idaho; Tudor Pro Cycling Team)