Community
Print
Vegan cyclist Emily Ehrlich won the women’s elite time trial race at the 2025 USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships earlier this month.
Ehrlich is one of the main riders for Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty 28, the US’s premier women’s cycling team, and her victory makes her the ITT National Champion for 2025.
The National Championships’ annual time trial event sees riders race to complete the relatively flat, out-and-back, 20.1-mile route the fastest. Ehrlich took first place on May 21 with a time of 43 minutes and four seconds and an average pace of 28 miles per hour.
“This is everything for me,” said Ehrlich, as reported by Cycling Weekly. “If there was one thing in cycling when I started riding and racing, what I wanted to do, this was it. So this really feels like a culmination of it all for me.”
Read more: ‘What I Eat In A Day As A Vegan Runner’
‘Veganism is a natural philosophy for an athlete’
Earlier this year, Ehrlich took first place in the Pan-American Continental Championships time trial and first place in the Valley of the Sun Race, making her a record four-time winner of the latter. She has been racing since 2017 and has competed in over 400 time trials.
In 2019, Ehrlich went vegan as an extension of her Buddhist learnings. She told Plant Based News (PBN) that she became more aware of animal agriculture and “couldn’t remain a passive bystander.” Ehrlich added that she feels “there’s great power to living and acting according to our values,” and that she cultivates conviction throughout her personal and athletic life.
“Veganism is a natural philosophy for an athlete and a whole foods plant-based diet is a clear advantage as an endurance athlete who pushes the limits,” said Ehrlich. “I have the most consistent high energy levels eating a high fiber diet rich in grains, beans, and greens.”
The importance of legumes and nutrient-dense greens
Ehrlich told PBN that she always eats oats before training and starts each day with oatmeal made with soy milk and cinnamon. She aims to eat at least seven servings of legumes per day, including tofu, edamame, and other beans, and said she hits her protein goals “effortlessly.” She also specifically highlighted the importance of fiber in a healthy diet, “for the sake of disease prevention, health, energy levels, and even athletic performance.”
One go-to meal for Ehrlich is a “simple” vegetable pasta with “tons of greens.” She added that spinach, collards, and other leafy greens “taste great” in pasta or with other grains, and cook down very quickly. “The nutrients are very important for staying in top shape day after day.”
Ehrlich isn’t the only athlete to follow a vegan diet. Fellow time trial rider and Olympic silver medal winner Anna Henderson went vegan after she “made that connection” between animals and meat. She has said that she wishes more riders would adopt the lifestyle.
“All round for me it’s been such a huge positive change in my life,” explained Henderson. “And I hope that riders will make the change soon.”
Read more: 5 Elite Vegan Athletes Weigh In On The Best Foods For Protein
