Twelve athletes will represent the United States in Freestyle BMX at the 2019 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships taking place starting November 7th running through the 10th in Chengdu, China.
Among the favorites are 2018 World Champions Perris Benegas (Sparks, Nev.; Cult) and Justin Dowell (Virginia Beach, VA; Levis, Monster Army), National Champion Daniel Sandoval (Mira Loma, Calif.; Redbull, Freeagent Bikes), 2018 Silver Medalist Angie Marino (La Mesa, Calif.; Vans, Cult), and 2017 World Champion, Hannah Roberts (Buchanan Mich. Tioga, Alienation), who recently won in the 2019 UCI World Cup Overall as well as the National Title and Pan American Title.
“Our riders continue to make great strides and I believe that as we look towards this weekend, our athletes will rise to the occasion and continue to impress,” said BMX Freestyle Head Coach for USA Cycling, Ryan Nyquist.
“We have several riders right up there with the best in the world,” added Jaime Staff, BMX Performance Director for USA Cycling, “and now that we’re in the last 12 months of qualifying for the Olympics, it’s imperative that our riders up their game. The U.S. Team is prepared and ready to compete and I expect to see great things this weekend.”
The Team USA roster is as follows:
Elite Women
Hannah Roberts (Buchanan Mich. Tioga, Alienation)
Perris Benegas (Sparks, Nev.; Cult)
Angie Marino (La Mesa, Calif.; Vans, Cult)
Chelsea Wolfe (Lake Park, Fla.; GT Bikes, RYB Denim)
Nina Buitrago (Austin, Tex.; Fox, Empire BMX)
Jesse Gregory (Huntington Beach, Calif.; Rockstar Energy, S&M Bikes)
Elite Men
Justin Dowell (Virginia Beach, VA; Levis, Monster Army)
Daniel Sandoval (Mira Loma, Calif.; Redbull, Freeagent Bikes)
Nick Bruce (Cleveland, Ohio; Rockstar Energy)
Jacob Theim (Omaha, Neb.)
Jacob Leiva (Tehachapi, Calif.;Hyper Bikes, Woodward)
Bryce Tryon (Lodi, Calif.)
Note: Jeremy Mallott also qualified for the competition but declined his slot.
The Freestyle competition begins with qualifying rounds in Friday November 8 concluding with Finals on Sunday.
To cheer for Team USA at the 2019 World Championships, please follow @USACycling on across all channels for updates and on the ground content. For more about the 2019 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships, please visit the event website at http://www.urbanworlds.cn/en/.
The USA Cycling 2019 Urban Cycling World Championships selection criteria is available here.
