USA Cycling announced today the Road, Mountain Bike, BMX Racing, BMX Freestyle, and Track Cycling teams that will compete for the U.S. Olympic Cycling Team. The 2020 Olympic Games will run July 23-August 8, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan.
The USA Cycling Selection Committee and coaching staff named seven Road, four Mountain Bike, five BMX Racing, four BMX Freestyle, and eight Track spots.
“Announcing this team is a testament to everyone’s immense dedication and hard work over many years, especially during one of the most challenging periods of our life time,” said Jim Miller, USA Cycling’s Chief of Sport Performance. “We have used the extra year with the goal to come to the Games even stronger and more prepared, and I believe we have done just that. We are bringing a medal capable team in all disciplines and it will show this summer in Tokyo.”
USA Cycling met the maximum athlete quota set by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in six different events: Women’s Road, Women’s Mountain Bike, Women’s BMX Racing, Men’s and Women’s BMX Freestyle, and Women’s Endurance Track. This is an accomplishment in itself that was only made possible by the hard work and commitment of the individuals on and off this list.
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“A year ago when we named the long team, I watched these athletes cycle through the disappointment of having to wait then very quickly shifting to the commitment that we will go to Tokyo stronger a year later,” said USA Cycling’s CEO Rob DeMartini. “I’ve watched them train from a distance, I’ve seen how hard they’ve worked, I’ve seen how much they have dealt with disruptions in schedules, travel, COVID, and everything. And I can say honestly that we are delivering a team this year that is stronger than the one that would have gone a year ago and because of that I am incredibly proud of them.”
The Road, Mountain Bike, and Track teams were chosen from the Olympic Long Teams that were nominated in June 2020. The women’s mountain bike team includes two automatic nominations. Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif.; SCOTT-SRAM Factory Racing) qualified by placing fifth at the 2019 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Mont-Sainte-Anne, CAN, and Haley Batten’s (Park City, Utah; Trinity Racing) incredible second-place result at the 2021 UCI World Cup in Nove Mesto, CZE earned her a nomination. On the road, Chloé Dygert (Brownsburg, Ind.; CANYON//SRAM Racing) cemented her spot on the women’s road team with a decisive win in the Elite Women’s Time Trial at the 2019 UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire, GBR.
The BMX teams qualified based on a points system. Athletes Connor Fields (Henderson, Nev.; Chase Bicycles/ Monster Energy), Corben Sharrah (Tucson, Ariz.; Daylight Cycle Co.), Felicia Stancil (Lake Villa, Ill.; Factory Answer SSquared), and Alise Willoughby (Saint Cloud, Minn.; Team Toyota/ GW Bicycles) mathematically earned their spots early in the year.
The same goes for the Women’s BMX Freestyle team, which includes Hannah Roberts (Buchanan, Mich.) and Perris Benegas (Reno, Nev.). The men’s points rankings came down to their final qualification event, which concluded on Monday at the 2021 UCI Urban World Championships, where Team USA broke the tie with Australia and came out as the top ranked Nation.
Discretionary nominations were made based on the selection criteria created for each discipline.
Men:
Lawson Craddock (Houston; EF Education - Nippo) – Road Race & Time Trial
Brandon McNulty (Phoenix; UAE Team Emirates) – Road Race & Time Trial
Women:
Chloé Dygert (Brownsburg, Ind.; CANYON//SRAM Racing) – Road Race & Time Trial
Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif.; Cogeas Mettler Look Pro Cycling) – Time Trial
Coryn Rivera (Tustin, Calif.; Team DSM) – Road Race
Leah Thomas (Santa Clara, Calif.; Moviestar Team Women) – Road Race
Ruth Winder (Boulder, Colo.; Trek-Segafredo) – Road Race
Men:
Christopher Blevins (Durango, Colo.; Trinity Racing)
Women:
Haley Batten (Park City, Utah; Trinity Racing)
Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif.; SCOTT-SRAM Factory Racing)
Erin Huck (Estes Park, Colo.; SCOTT-Stages)*
Men:
Connor Fields (Henderson, Nev.; Chase Bicycles/ Monster Energy)
Corben Sharrah (Tucson, Ariz.; Daylight Cycle Co.)
Women:
Payton Ridenour (Pottstown; Penn.; Mongoose Bicycles)
Felicia Stancil (Lake Villa, Ill.; Factory Answer SSquared)
Alise Willoughby (Saint Cloud, Minn.; Team Toyota/ GW Bicycles)
Men:
Nick Bruce (Youngstown, Ohio)
Justin Dowell (Virginia Beach, V.A.)
Women:
Perris Benegas (Reno, Nev.)
Hannah Roberts (Buchanan, Mich.)
Men:
Adrian Hegyvary (Seattle) – Madison
Gavin Hoover (Manhattan Beach, Calif.; Elevate-Webiplex Pro Cycling) – Madison & Omnium
Women:
Chloé Dygert (Brownsburg, Ind.; CANYON//SRAM Racing) – Team Pursuit
Maddie Godby (Louisville, Colo.) – Keirin & Sprint
Megan Jastrab (Apple Valley, Calif.; Team DSM) – Team Pursuit & Madison
Jennifer Valente (San Diego; Twenty24) – Team Pursuit, Madison, & Omnium
Emma White (Duanesburg, N.Y.; Rally Cycling) – Team Pursuit
Lily Williams (Tallahassee, Fla.; Rally Cycling) – Team Pursuit
*Edited on July 1, 2021 to reflect team changes.
All team nominations are subject to U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee approval.
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee
