COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Cycling announced on Thursday the athletes who will represent the United States in the Cross-Country and Downhill Mountain Bike races at the 2020 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships that will take place in Leogang, Austria on October 7-11, 2020.
With the postponement of both Mountain Bike World Championships this year due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Downhill and Cross-Country events will be held at the same event this year. 2018 World Champion and 2019 World Cup Overall Champion, Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif.; SCOTT/ SRAM Racing) will lead this team of talented athletes. Joining Courtney in contesting the Elite women’s field for cross-country are four-time National Champion Erin Huck (Boulder, Colo.; Stages Cycling-Scott), and former Collegiate National Champion Hannah Finchamp (Altadena, Calif.; Orange Seal Off-Road Team). This group of women also make up the USA Cycling Olympic Long Team with the addition of Haley Batten (Park City, Utah; Specialized Factory Racing), who will be racing in the U23 category. Leading the Junior women is Madigan Munro (Boulder, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing) who finished third at the 2020 UCI Cyclocross World Championships. She will be joined by Ruth Holcomb (Durango, Colo.; Bear National Team) and Haley Randel (Mill Valley, Calif.; Bear National Team).
For the men, 2019 Cross-Country National Champion Keegan Swenson (Park City, Utah; Stan's-Pivot Pro Team p/b Maxxis) will represent Team USA in the Elite event, with Christopher Blevins (Durango, Colo.; Specialized Factory Racing) racing the U23 category. Blevins raced to a silver medal in the 2018 World Championships. With only one of them going to the Olympic Games, both Swenson and Blevins are competing at the top of their game to make it to Tokyo. Taking on the Junior men’s Cross-Country race are Riley Amos (Durango, Colo.; Bear National Team) and Bjorn Riley (Boulder, Colo.; Bear National Team), who both hope to better last year’s World Championship performances.
Jim Miller, USA Cycling’s Chief of Sport Performance, is excited to see this team perform in Austria, “We’re bringing a highly focused team and a group of medal capable athletes competing against the best in the world. Some of the athletes have done only a handful of races this year, for others this will be their first of the season. Regardless of the challenges many have faced this year, we believe we are bringing one of the strongest teams we have ever had. For the Cross-Country racers, many have their eyes on the Olympic Games in 2021 with this race being a big factor in the qualification process.”
On the Downhill side of racing, the men’s team has proven strong in years past with all four riders placing in the top 15 at last year’s World Championships. Riders include five-time World Cup Overall Champion Aaron Gwin (Murietta, Calif.; Intense Factory Racing), reigning Downhill National Champion Neko Mulally (Brevard, N.C.; Intense Factory Racing), Charlie Harrison (Trabuco Canyon, Calif.; Trek Factory Racing), Dakotah Norton (Knoxville, Tenn.; Unior Devinci Factory Racing), and Luca Shaw (Hendersonville, N.C.; Santa Cruz Syndicate). Among the juniors competing are 17-18 Downhill National Champion Matthew Sterling (San Jose, Calif.; Giant Factory Off-Road Team), 15-16 Downhill National Champion Christopher Grice (Brevard, N.C.; Specialized Factory Racing), Austin Dooley (Yucaipa, Calif.; Commencal USA), and Dante Silva (Chula Vista, Calif.).
On the women’s side, Anna Newkirk (Riehen, Switzerland; SRAM Young Guns Racing) will be racing her first year in the Elite class. Last year, Newkirk grabbed the bronze medal in the Junior category. She will be joined by Mazie Hayden (Pittsfield, Vt.; Defiant Racing) in the Elite women’s event along with Ella Erickson (Hayden, Idaho; Commencal USA) competing in the Junior women’s race.
The Team USA roster is as follows:
Elite Men:
Keegan Swenson (Park City, Utah; Stan's-Pivot Pro Team p/b Maxxis)
Elite Women:
Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif.; SCOTT/ SRAM Racing)
Hannah Finchamp (Altadena, Calif.; Orange Seal Off-Road Team)
Erin Huck (Boulder, Colo.; Stages Cycling-Scott)
*Lea Davison and Chloe Woodruff have both been nominated to the team, but declined their spots.
U23 Men:
Christopher Blevins (Durango, Colo.; Specialized Factory Racing)
U23 Women:
Haley Batten (Park City, Utah; Specialized Factory Racing)
Junior Men:
Riley Amos (Durango, Colo.; Bear National Team)
Bjorn Riley (Boulder, Colo.; Bear National Team)
Junior Women:
Ruth Holcomb (Durango, Colo.; Bear National Team)
Madigan Munro (Boulder, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing)
Haley Randel (Mill Valley, Calif.; Bear National Team)
Elite Men:
Aaron Gwin (Murietta, Calif.; Intense Factory Racing)
Charlie Harrison (Trabuco Canyon, Calif.; Trek Factory Racing)
Neko Mulally (Pisgah Forest, N.C.; Intense Factory Racing)
Dakotah Norton (Knoxville, Tenn.; Unior Devinci Factory Racing)
Luca Shaw (Hendersonville, N.C.; Santa Cruz Syndicate)
Elite Women:
Mazie Hayden (Pittsfield, Vt.; Defiant Racing)
Anna Newkirk (Riehen, Switzerland; SRAM Young Guns Racing)
Junior Men:
Austin Dooley (Yucaipa, Calif.; Commencal USA)
Christopher Grice (Brevard, N.C.; Specialized Factory Racing)
Dante Silva (Chula Vista, Calif.)
Matthew Sterling (San Jose, Calif.; Giant Factory Off-Road Team)
Junior Women:
Ella Erickson (Hayden, Idaho; Commencal USA)
Selection criteria is available for Cross-Country here and Downhill here.
Wednesday, October 7: Team Relay and E-Bike
Thursday, October 8: Junior Women’s and Junior Men’s XCO
Friday, October 9: Downhill Qualifying and U23 Men’s XCO
Saturday, October 10: U23 Women’s, Elite Women’s, and Elite Men’s XCO
Sunday, October 11: All Junior and Elite Downhill Finals
To cheer for Team USA at the 2020 World Championships, please follow @UCI_Cycling and @USACyclingLIVE on Twitter. For more about the 2020 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, please visit the event website.
