Colorado Mesa University’s (CMU) cycling team has cemented itself in the history books yet again, winning the 2026 USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championship Varsity Team Omnium title in Waterloo, Wisconsin, home of Trek Bicycles. Riders competed in three different events to determine the top schools and athletes from institutions across the country. CMU walked away from the event with their sixth-consecutive National Omnium title.
The Team Time Trial is a 36.8-kilometer race where teams of riders race against the clock, together in a tight, rotating group called a paceline. This year, CMU took second place in both Men’s and Women’s, with the women clocking in at 53:37.76, and the men at 47:10.33.
The Road Race event consisted of a 14.5-mile rolling course for cyclists to make a certain number of laps to claim their spot on the podium. The Women needed to complete four laps, totaling 58 miles, and the Men needed to complete six laps, totaling 87 miles. Sophomore, Ella Sabo won the Varsity Women’s Individual National title for the Road Race event with a time of 2:22:09. The team added to a dominant performance, placing three other riders with Cassidy Hickey placing fourth, Alexis Jaramillo ninth and Chloe Fraser twenty-first. Senior Luke Elphingstone battled to a tight fifth-place finish, only two seconds behind the leader. Aidan Lemorande and Vaughn Veenendaal placed 15th and 18th, respectively.
After a solid day two, the team went into the final day only six points behind Marian University in the overall team standings. The Criterium events took place in downtown Madison, WI, where riders would navigate a four-corner course. A Criterium (Crit) race typically lasts 30-90 minutes and crowns the first rider to cross the finish line at the end of the race without having been “lapped.”
Varsity Women’s, Ella Sabo and Cassidy Hickey put CMU on two podium spots, finishing second and third, respectively. Hickey was last year’s national champion in this event. Alexis Jaramillo and Mia Deye finished 13th and 15th, respectively, adding critical team points.
Defending national champion, Luke Elphingstone, took third in this year’s Varsity Men’s Crit. Nolan Chutch and Dylan Fluckiger finished with 14th and 15th-place finishes.
Overall, the Men’s and Women’s Varsity teams combined for 438 points, making them national champions for the sixth year in a row. Cementing themselves in history as one of the most dominant programs in collegiate cycling history. The Varsity Women’s Individual Omnium National Champion was CMU’s Ella Sabo, and the bronze medalist was Cassidy Hickey. Luke Elphingstone took third in the Varsity Men’s Individual Omnium.
CMU claimed national titles this season in mountain biking, cyclocross and road. They also took third nationally in track cycling. The program now has a total of 9 omnium titles, 24 team discipline titles and 104 individual titles.
After the last two years in Madison, WI, the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships will move to Grand Junction, CO, for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. The dominant CMU cycling team will get the chance to collect another national championship on their home roads here on the Western Slope.