This year’s host, Trek Bicycles, welcomed student-athletes from across the country to their headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin, for the 2025 USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships p/b Trek. Riders faced cooler weather and challenging courses in hopes of being crowned National Champion. Team Time Trial Riders raced into the weekend with a 24-kilometer Team Time Trial on Friday, showcasing their teamwork, skills, and speed.
The Club Women were first to roll out, with the reigning champions, University of Colorado Boulder, once again posting the fastest time at 33:42.26 to earn gold. Colorado State University and the University of Arizona rounded out the podium with times of 34:56.76 and 35:54.37, respectively. In the Varsity Women’s race, Colorado Mesa University clocked a 32:37.78 to win the Stars and Stripes, with Marian University close behind for silver, just 11 seconds down.
Fort Lewis College secured bronze with a strong time of 33:13.50. The Club Men’s event was tight, with Princeton University racing to the win in 29:11.61. Colorado State University earned silver only six seconds back, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill rode strong to take bronze.
In the Varsity Men’s race, Milligan University dominated the course, stopping the clock at 27:51.87 to take the National Championship title. Marian University was the only other team to break the 28-minute mark, finishing in 27:59.13 to claim second. Belmont Abbey College put in a strong ride to secure third.
Road Race On Saturday, riders met at Trek’s headquarters in Waterloo for the road race. The first race of the day was the Varsity Women, who completed five laps of the 13.1-mile rolling course. A touch of wheels early on caused a crash that took a fair number of riders out of contention.
A 10 person breakaway formed shortly after and stayed together for most of the race. However, Jette Aelken (Savannah, Ga.; SCAD Savannah) had other plans, attacking out of the break and gained a sizeable gap over the chasers, rolling in solo for the win. The chase group finished nearly three minutes back, with teammates Cassidy Hickey (Parker, Colo.; Colorado Mesa University) and Ella Sabo (Redlands, Calif.; Colorado Mesa University) sprinting to second and third.
Next up were the Club Women. Despite multiple attacks, the field stayed together until the finish. Kaia Schmid (Marblehead, Mass.
; University of Colorado Boulder) outsprinted her competition to win the Stars and Stripes jersey. Emily Gilbert (Tucson, Ariz.; University of Arizona) took silver, and Ajay Baker (Westfield, Ind. ; St. Charles Composite) sprinted to bronze.
After a short break, the Varsity Men rolled out for seven intense laps. The race started fast, with multiple teams trying to establish a break in the opening laps, averaging over 28 mph. With four laps to go, the field began to splinter, and a group of seven broke away, eventually whittling down to three.
The break hovered around a 35-second lead for much of the race. Manolo Wrolich (Banner Elk, N.C.; Lees-McRae College) surged to the finish to take the national title, with Henry Nelson (Lawrence, Kan.; Fort Lewis College) grabbing silver and Luke Arens (Indianapolis, Ind. ; Marian University) earning bronze.
