In 2021, Luke Lamperti won in Knoxville, becoming the youngest US Pro Criterium champion in history. Later that year, Lamperti proved that this was no fluke by winning a hard-fought NRC race in England, the Rapha Lincoln GP. After returning home, he won the final round of the Tulsa Tough to take the overall omnium title.

Lamperti heads into the US Pro Championships with a target on his back, but he says winning back-to-back criterium titles is not his main goal.

"I would rather win a road race. I love racing criteriums, but my main goal is the road race at the national championships," Lamperti told Cycling News.

After two seasons with Trinity Racing, where he won every major under-23 race, Lamperti is ready to take the next step, saying he hopes to earn a neo-pro position on a WorldTour team in 2023. winning a US pro road race title would strengthen his bargaining power.

"Winning the US Pro road race would be a big step," he said. If the second half of the season goes well, I would love to join the World Tour."

Lamperti competed in the hilly Knoxville road race last year, but retired before reaching the finish line. He was worn out by the heat and the ten round trips up the steep climb of Sherrod Road. This is the problem many European professionals have when they leave their service courses, mechanics, soigneurs, and coaches behind to compete in the U.S. championships alone.

This year, former pro Brent Bookwalter is working with the nonprofit Pro Cyclist Foundation to provide full support for Euro pros participating in the Knoxville race. Soignier will be in the feeding zone and Mike Sayers will be in the team car to better facilitate food, hydration, and mechanical support during the race.

"I really appreciate the Pro Cycling Foundation for supporting the participants from the European teams that don't have staff. People don't realize how much the people behind the race do," Lamperti said.

During the race in Tulsa, he took care of all the little touches that bike racing requires, such as mixing his own bottles and adjusting his tire pressure.

Racing without a teammate is another matter, but he showed in Tulsa that he could surf another team's train and still get results.

"I really enjoyed Tulsa. It was a little tricky not having a teammate. But I was able to win overall on the last day. It was the hardest day at Cry Baby. So it was fun and it was really nice to win with the jersey on."

"Racing without a teammate is never ideal. A lot of the racers come back and only have one or two teammates. A lot of riders don't have big teams. I'm not the only one, and that's no excuse at All-Japan."

"You have to race with a different mentality. Teams don't bring back a lot of moves, so you either save to be able to run from the early break to the end, or you save and go for timing. What I learned is that the climbs get bigger and bigger with each lap. It's deceptively difficult."

While the Sherrod Road climb may be the "limit" of Lamperti's climbing ability, he showed at the 2021 UCI Road World Championships that he can handle tough courses, finishing in 10th place.

Lamperti feels that if all goes well, he could win the US Pro title. He said, "It's definitely possible, and I'd love to try. It's been a big goal of mine this season."

First up is defending his criterium title. L39ON of Los Angeles dominated last season, but faces a major challenge from teams like Best Buddies and Project Echelon. Lamperti says this is a natural evolution of the scene.

"If a team is dominant one year, whatever that may be, it's going to flip. And the team that comes out on top is always going to have people chasing them and trying to beat them. And they're starting to realize how they can get there, how it's possible." The scene is getting bigger, so more and more teams are getting up to that level and seeing what Legion has done and trying to do it themselves.

"Going into the National Championships, I think it will be a much more open race than last year. I think it will be less controlled. There is less control in the crit scene these days. So I think it will be a harder race to predict."