USA Cycling unveiled course maps for the 2017 Professional Road Championships on Wednesday, providing details on the circuits for both the individual time trial and the road race.
Knoxville, Tennessee will make its debut as the host city for the event in just over three months as nationals moves into a new calendar slot – coinciding with most national championships around the world – after years as a late May affair. The fast finishers may find the road parcours to their liking this June.
The men's and women's road races will both take place on a 12.8km (7.9-mile) circuit, with the men completing 14 laps for 175km, and the women racing eight laps totaling 101km. Riders will set off from the start/finish line in Old City Knoxville and ride through downtown before crossing to the south side of the Tennessee River. The Sherrod Street climb, which hits double digits and runs for a little under half a mile, is the main topographic challenge along the route, making its appearance just over two and a half miles in.
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From there it's a speedy descent and then a looping trek through South Knoxville before the riders cross back over the river, making their way on lightly undulating roads back to the line in Old City Knoxville for a mostly flat final mile. Given the distance from the ascent up Sherrod Street to the finish, long-range attackers will have their work cut out for them keeping the speedsters at bay.
Megan Guarnier (Boels Dolmans) is the women's defending champion, coming off back-to-back years of besting Coryn Rivera (Sunweb) to the line at nationals – though Rivera may have her best chance yet at the national title on the Knoxville course.
Trek-Segafredo's Gregory Daniel won the 2016 men's title at just 21 years old while racing at the Continental level for Axeon Hagens Berman. A title defense will be a tall order, but then, so was his stunning win in the first place.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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