Team USA Recap: Blevins And Blunk Win Elite XCO National Titles; Simmons Earns Most Combative at Tour de France Stage

(July 10-19) – Christopher Blevins (Specialized Racing) and Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing) won the elite men’s and women’s XCO titles at this year’s USA Cycling Endurance MTB National Championships, held for the second year in a row in Virginia’s Blue Ridge. Hundreds of elite and age-group cyclists took on the heat, rain and hills for an epic week of racing for Stars and Stripes jerseys.

Dan English (TRINITY Racing) defended his U23 XCO men’s title and Greta Kilburn (Bicycle Express Racing) won the U23 women’s race. Noah Scholnick (Bear National Team) won the junior men’s 17-18 title and Scout Wellmeier (Bear National Team) won the junior women’s 17-18 race.

The week kicked off with Cross Country Marathon (XCM). Cole Paton (Giant) and Melisa Rollins (Liv Racing Collective) won the elite men’s and women’s 19+ titles, coming through first on the 53.2 mile course. It was Paton’s second XCM title in a row. Hundreds of amateurs took on a 39.8 mile course. 

In short track action, Bjorn Riley (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing) won the elite men’s race, holding off Blevins in a sprint for his third XCC title in a row. Savilia Blunk won another XCC title as well, coming in a comfortable 26 seconds ahead of Gwen Gibson (Trek-Unbroken). 

Nico Konecny (Lexware MTB Team) won the U23 men’s title in a photo-finish sprint with Dan English (TRINITY Racing) to defend his title. Greta Kilburn won the U23 women’s jersey. Noah Scholnick won the junior men’s 17-18 XCC race by one second. Junior women’s 17-18 road race national champion Scout Wellmeier won the junior women’s XCC race. Endurance Mountain Bike Nationals will return to Virginia’s Blue Ridge for a third year in 2027.

Daily race recaps: Cross country marathon | Amateur, Masters XCC |Elite, U23, Junior 17-18 XCC | Junior, Amateurs, Masters XCO| Elite, U23, Junior 17-18 XCO | Masters, Juniors XCO | Results

(July 10-12) – It was another incredible weekend of World Cup MTB racing for Team USA, most of whom headed straight back to the US for MTB National Championships after scoring several podiums and 13 top-10 placings in Andorra.

Bjorn Riley (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing) earned his first-ever World Cup win with a victory in elite men’s XCC. And reigning XCC and XCO series champion Christopher Blevins(Specialized Factory Racing), showed he was back on form after an early-season injury, earning bronze in elite men’s XCC and placing 4^th in XCO.

Aletha Ostgaard (Canyon DH Racing) won the junior women’s DH, making it six podiums in six WC races (including three wins) for the junior women’s national champion.

Ryan Pinkerton (Mondraker Factory Racing) placed 3^rd in elite men’s DH for his first elite WC podium finish. Asa Vermette (Framework Racing/TRP) came in 4^th and Luca Shaw (Canyon DH Racing) was 8^th. 

Anna Newkirk (Frameworks Racing/TRP) finished 4^th in elite women’s DH. Luke Mallen(Outlaw Intense Racing) was 6^th in junior men’s DH.

Bjorn Riley placed 6^th and Riley Amos (Trek-Unbroken XC) was 9^th in elite men’s XCO.Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing) placed 6^th in elite women’s XCC and 4^th in XCO. 

Next up is Les Gets, Haute-Savoie, France, August 20-23.

Results here | Overall standings here

(July 17-19) – In round five of the UCI Enduro World Cup, JT Fisher (Yeti/Fox Factory Racing) placed 6^th in the elite men’s race, Romy Williams (Speed Project) placed 2^nd in junior women’s, and Cornelius Carelsen placed 7^th in junior men’s. The last race in the series takes place August 14-16, in Morillon, Haute-Savoie, France.

Results here

(July 15-19) –  Nate Kitchen won the elite men’s race and Kallie Stewart won the elite women’s race at stop number three of the USA Cycling Downhill National Series. Nearly 450 elite and age group athletes took part in a weekend of high-altitude racing at Solitude Mountain Resort, in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains.

Nikolas Nestoroff and Cole Suetos placed 2^nd and 3^rd behind Kitchen. In the elite women’s race, Maylei Leaneagh and Sara Ligman placed 2^nd and 3^rd behind Stewart.

Stop number four in the Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series is July 23-26 at Snow Summit in Big Bear Lake, CA, at the USA Cycling Gravity Mountain Bike National Championships.

Results here

(July 4-26) – After two weeks of racing at the Tour, Road Race National Champion Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) earned the Most Combative award on the relentlessly mountainous Stage 15.

Six Americans started the Tour and six are going into the final week, which ends Sunday in Paris: Sepp Kuss (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost), Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Matteo Jorgenson (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), and Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM).

Four Americans are in the top-25 overall: Kuss currently sits 17^th, McNulty is 18^th, Quinn is 19^th and Simmons is 24^th. 

Results here

(July 8-12) – Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) placed 2^nd and AJ August(Netcompany INEOS) was 6^th at this year’s Tour of Austria, a five-stage race that began in Graz and finished in Vienna. 

Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) scored his first victory of the season, winning stage 3. August, age 20, placed 1^st in the young rider’s category. In addition to three podium placings during the week, Vermaerke also won the points jersey.

Results here

(July 11) – Skylar Schneider (L39ION of Los Angeles) and Tyler Williams (L39ION of Los Angeles) were the pro women’s and men’s winner at Bailey & Glasser LLP Twilight Criterium in downtown Boise, race number 3 in the six-race American Criterium Cup series.

Aline Seitz (HigherDOSE/Renova), Kimberly Lucie (Team S&M CX), Jenna Nestman(Automatic Racing) and Olivia Cummins (Virginia’s Blue Ridge/TWENTY28) placed 2^nd-5^thbehind Schneider, who is the overall women’s leader in the series. 

New series leader Justin Williams (L39ION of Los Angeles) placed 2^nd, followed by Preston Eye (Clif Family Drifters Cycling), Luke Lamperti (EF Education-EasyPost) and Ben Boroff(Velovit Elite) taking 3^rd-5^th. Next up in the series is Chicago Grit, July 26 in Chicago.

Results here

(July 17-19) – Team USA came away with two bronze medals and several top-10 placings in a weather-shortened 2026 UCI BMX Racing World Championships.

Fourteen cyclists including all six national champions – Kamren Larsen (Factory SSquared/Answer), Payton Ridenour (Chase Bicycles), Sean Day (Cycle Therapy Racing), Alexis Alden (Albe’s Bike Shop), Tommy Bruney (Factory Full Tilt/ RIFT), and Derin Merten (Race Inc.) – represented the US, with 12 advancing.

Before persistent strong winds cut the weekend short, the elite men had raced through the eighth-finals, elite women and U23 riders had completed their First Rounds and Last Chance Qualifiers, and the juniors had reached the quarterfinals. Results were taken from that second day.

In the end, Alexis Alden (Albe’s Bike Shop) earned bronze in U23 women’s and Tommy Bruney (Factory Full Tilt/ RIFT) earned bronze in the junior men’s class.

Cameron Wood (Mongoose/USA BMX Foundation) placed 10^th in elite men’s and Daleny Vaughn (Biolab Sciences/ DK Bicycles) was 8^th for elite women.

In the junior men’s category, Evan Esposito (Albe’s Bike Shop) was 5^th and Cutter Godaire(BMX Sharks) placed 7^th. Derin Merten (Race Inc) placed 5^th for junior women.  

Recap day one | day two | Results here