COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USA Cycling announced today the final six riders to compete on the U.S. National Team at the 2019 Colorado Classic® presented by VF Corporation. The team is comprised of talented up and coming collegiate riders and veteran stars, including the 2019 USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Champion in the Club Division, Cara O’Neill (Tucson, Ariz.; University of Arizona) as well as the 2018 Collegiate Cyclocross National Champion and Road bronze medalist, Samantha Runnels (Austin, Texas; Lindenwood University), and bronze medalist at the 2019 USA Cycling Professional Criterium National Championships in the U23 category, Madeline Bemis (Corona; Calif.; Milligan College). 2014 Collegiate All-Star member and 2018 Colorado Classic Champion, Katie Hall (Saratoga, Calif.; Boels Dolman Cycling Team) will serve as the mentor and provide veteran leadership to the team.
“The Colorado Classic provides us with a great opportunity to showcase young talent that may one day compete at World Championships or Olympics. Our USA Cycling Collegiate Program is a great avenue for young riders to develop and has produced great champions, Katie Hall is a great example of that. We hope the opportunity to race against a talented international field in a top UCI race will continue to inspire our riders to greatness,” said Jeff Pierce, Director of Elite Athletics, Road and Track for USA Cycling.
U.S. National Team for the 2019 Colorado Classic:
Madeline Bemis (Corona, Calif.; Milligan College)
· 2019 USA Cycling Professional Criterium National Championships (3rd - U23)
· 2018 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Champion (Individual Overall Omnium)
Anna Christian (Minneapolis; University of Colorado Boulder)
· 2019 USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships (2nd – Road)
· 2019 USA Cycling Collegiate Race National Championships (1st – Criterium)
Emma Edwards (Cambridge, Mass.; Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
· 2019 USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships (3rd – Road)
Katie Hall (Saratoga, Calif.; UC Berkley, Collegiate Program/Collegiate All-Star Alumni)
· 2014 Collegiate All-Star member
· 2018 Colorado Classic Champion
Cara O’Neill (Tucson, Ariz.; University of Arizona)
· 2019 USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Champion
Samantha Runnels (Austin, Texas; Lindenwood University)
· 2018 USA Cycling Collegiate Cyclocross National Champion
· 2018 USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships (3rd – Road)
The 2019 Colorado Classic, August 22-25, will be the only UCI standalone women’s stage race in North America; raising the bar with quadrupled prize purse, team stipends, live streaming and longer, more challenging routes. The USA Cycling National Team at the 2019 Colorado Classic is comprised of promising current and former cyclists who have competed in USA Cycling’s Collegiate Program.
Visit USACycling.org for more information on the athletes, events and membership programs, and follow @USACycling across all channels for the latest on Team USA. For more information on the 2019 Colorado Classic® presented by VF Corporation, visit: https://www.coloradoclassic.com/
For more information, please contact Kelly Fox at apalermo@usacycling.org or Guillermo Rojas at grojas@usacycling.org.
