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Team USA

Team USA Recap: More MTB World Cup Podiums; Riccitello 5th at Tour de Suisse; BMX Freestyle Olympic Qualifier Series Domination

By: Anne Stein  June 25, 2024

We recap the latest in American bike racing from the past two weeks (June 11-25)

MOUNTAIN BIKE

UCI MTB World Cup: Val di Sole, Italy

(June 14-16) – American DH racers kicked off a weekend of World Cup racing with a pair of silver medals at Val di Sole. Dakotah Norton (Mondraker Factory Racing) placed 2nd in the elite men’s final, while Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing) took 2nd in the junior men’s final. Kale Cushman (The Gravity Collective) placed 5th in the junior women’s race.

Bjorn Riley (Trek Future Racing) earned gold and Riley Amos (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) placed 2ndin U23 men’s XCC, then switched spots the next day, with Amos placing 1st and Riley taking 2nd in the U23 men’s XCO. Amos remains undefeated this season in U23 XCO, and the two are ranked 1-2 overall in World Cup standings.

Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) earned her 2nd elite women’s bronze this season in XCC, then went on to place 5th in elite women’s XCO. Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) placed 8th.

Madigan Munro (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) finished 5th in U23 women’s XCC and 6th in XCO.

Complete results here

UCI MTB World Cup: Crans-Montana, Valais, Switzerland

(June 21-23)Riley Amos (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) and Bjorn Riley (Trek Future Racing) swept the top-two results both days at Crans-Montana, with Amos placing 1st and Riley placing 2nd in XCC and XCO.

Madigan Munro (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) also podiumed both days, placing 3rd in U23 women’s XCC and 2nd in XCO. She currently stands 3rd in World Cup overall rankings.

Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) took 4th in elite men’s XCC, and currently stands 3rdin World Cup rankings. Gwendalyn Gibson (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) placed 5th and Kate Courtney (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) placed 8th in elite women’s XCC.

The team heads to Les Gets, France July 4-7 for the last World Cup before the Paris Olympic Games.

Complete results here

Marathon MTB National Championships: Auburn, Alabama

(June 15) – Hundreds of cyclists battled for 28 elite and age-group national championship titles on a hot Saturday at Chewacla State Park in Auburn. After nearly four hours of racing, the elite women’s race ended in a two-up sprint, with Alexis Skarda (Santa Cruz Bicycles SRAM) defending her title and Hannah Otto (Pivot Cycles/DT Swiss) placing 2nd. Carson Beckett (Dirt Camp Racing) took the elite men’s title, coming in two minutes ahead of Bradyn Lange (SCOTT Orange Seal). Elite men and women raced 2.5 laps totaling 46.4 miles.

Race recap here

Complete results here

ROAD

Tour de Suisse: Switzerland

(June 9-16)Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech) placed 5th overall and 2nd in the Youth category at the Tour de Suisse, earning the best pro race result in his two years of World Tour racing.

The 22-year-old earned top-10 placings in five stages of the 8-stage race. “Overall I’ve been happy with how the week has gone,” said Riccitello. “I’ve dreamed about racing at the top level with all these guys I race against now, so to be in this position in the past few days is really cool and gives me more motivation going forward. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Complete results here

American Criterium Cup: Tour of America’s Dairyland

(June 13-23)The American Criterium Cup (ACC), an eight-race professional criterium series, made stop number two in Wisconsin at the Tour of America’s Dairyland, for 11 days of crit racing across the state for age-group and elite cyclists.

Thursday night’s pro race, the Janesville Town Square Grand Prix, saw Arielle Verhaaren(Automatic/ABUS Racing) place 1st, followed by Samantha Schneider (Miami Blazers) and Kim Lucie (DNA Pro Cycling). Wolfgang Bradl (Maloja Pushbikers), Fergus Arthur (Reign Storm Racing) and Juan Carvajal (Work Hard Be Humble) went 1-3 in the pro men’s side.

Friday’s women’s pro race in West Allis was won by Skylar Schneider (Miami Blazers), followed by Marlies Mejias Garcia (Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twnety24) and Rylee McMullen (DNA Pro Cycling) in 2nd and 3rd. Lucas Bourgoyne (Austin Outlaws), Fergus Arthur (Reign Storm Racing) and Marcos Mendez (Rockland Devo Program) went 1-3.

Saturday’s Giro d’Grafton was won by Anika Brants (Milton Revolution Cycling Club), followed by Paola Munoz (Team Goldman Sachs) and Marlies Mejias Garcia (Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24). Cesar Marte (Work Hard Be Humble) placed first for the pro men, followed by Lucas Bourgoyne(Austin Outlaws) and Ryan Gorman (Voler Factory Racing).

Sunday’s Manitowoc Maritime Bay Classic was won by Marlies Mejias Garcia (Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24), followed by Rylee McMullen (DNA Pro Cycling) and Makayla Macpherson (DNA Pro Cycling). Clever Jose Martinez Moros (Rockland Devo Program), Thomas Gibbons (ABUS Racing) and Wolfgang Brandl (Maloja Pushbikers) went 1-3.

Monday’s Tour de Pere was won by Marlies Mejias Garcia (Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24), with Skylar Schneider (Miami Blazers) and Rylee McMullen (DNA Pro Cycling) placing 2nd and 3rd. Luca Haines (Team California p/b Verge) won the pro men’s race, with Ethan Craine (Project Echelon Racing) and Ryan Jastrab (Team Six) in 2nd and 3rd.

Marlies Mejias Garcia (Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24) earned her third straight win at Tuesday’s Wilo USA Cedar Creek Classic, followed by Rylee McMullen (DNA Pro Cycling) and Arielle Verhaaren (Automatic/ABUS Racing). Scott McGill (Project Echelon Racing) was 1st, followed by Florenz Knauer (54x11) and James Gardner (MITOQ-NZ Cycling Project) in 2nd and 3rd.

Wedenesday’s Mount Pleasant Momentum was won by Paola Munoz (Team Goldman Sachs), with Rylee McMullen (DNA Pro Cycling) and Anika Brants (Milton Revolution Cycling Club) in 2nd and 3rd. Juan Carvajal (Work Hard Be Humble), Michael Garrison (MGR p/g Nich+Speedclub), and Will Hardin (Velocious Sport) went 1-3 in the men’s pro race.

Thursday’s Central Bay View Classic in Milwaukee was won by Skylar Schneider (Miami Blazers), followed by USA pro criterium national champion Coryn Labecki (EF Education -Cannondale) and Sofia Arreola (Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24). Reign Storm Racing teammates Alfredo Rodriguezand Jordan Parra went 1-2, with James Gardner (MITOQ-NZ Cycling Project) taking 3rd.

Friday’s Shorewood Criterium Classic was won by Claudia Marcks (Fearless Femme Racing p/b Robertet), with Samantha Schneider (Miami Blazers) and Marlies Mejias Garcia (Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24) placing 2nd and 3rd. Reign Storm Racing swept the top three men’s spots, with Jordan Parra, Alfredo Rodriguez and Bryan Gomez going 1-3.

At Saturday’s Café Hollander Otto Wenz Downer Classic, Kim Stoveld (Automatic/ABUS Racing), Kaitlyn Agnew (UTC-Butcherbox-p/b Look) and Skylar Schneider (Miami Blazers) took the top three spots, while Bryan Gomez (Reign Storm Racing), James Gardner (MITOQ-NZ Cycling Project) and Jordan Parra (Reign Storm Racing) went 1-3.

And Sunday’s final day of racing, Café Hollander Tosa Village Classic, saw Marlies Mejias Garcia(Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24) take another win, followed by Arielle Verhaaren (Automatic/ABUS Racing) and Samantha Schneider (Miami Blazers). Lucas Bourgoyne (Austin Outlaws), Ryan Jastrab (Team Six) and Bryan Gomez (Reign Storm Racing) took the top three men’s spots.

Bailey & Glasser LLP Twilight Criterium on June 29th in Boise, ID, will be the third stop of the USA Cycling Criterium National Series and the American Criterium Cup.

Complete results here

Overall standings here

BMX FREESTYLE

Olympic Qualifier Series: Budapest, Hungary

(June 20-23) – Four Americans punched their tickets to Paris at the second and final BMX Freestyle qualifier, held in Budapest. World Champion Hannah Roberts placed 1st and Perris Benegas was 2ndat the Sunday final, both earning a second trip to the Olympics. Roberts was the silver medalist in Tokyo at the sport’s Olympic debut, while Benegas placed 4th.

On the men’s side, former national champion Marcus Christopher was 2nd and former world champion Justin Dowell 5th to qualify them for the Paris Olympic Games. Dowell placed 8th in Tokyo.

Complete results here