USA Cycling Names UCI MTB World Championships Team

USA Cycling announced its MTB World Championship squads for downhill and cross country. The 41 athletes have been invited to represent the U.S. in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, September 5-9. As in years past, not all athletes are fully funded by USAC for the trip. This means that, as in years past, not all on the roster will make the trip. Some will opt out for financial reasons and others for scheduling conflicts. For instance, Ellen Noble, who made the team off of strong World Cup performances and a podium at Nationals, is passing on the invitation to concentrate on the upcoming cyclocross season. The C1/C2 Rochester Cyclocross weekend falls on the same days as the MTB World Championship.

Lenzerheide is a regular stop on the World Cup circuit. It will challenge racers with big climbs and natural technical terrain. Last year Lenzerheide became a mudder and resembled a cyclocross race with slippery off-cambers and sections of running.

You can catch the action on redbull.tv. And follow me on Instagram at @cxhairs for more from Switzerland.

Below are the invited athletes. An asterisk next to the name means that the athlete was an automatic qualifier.

 

DOWNHILL

Junior Women:

Kaytlin Melvin (Sammamish, WA; Sweetlines Racing)

Anna Newkirk* (Riehen, Switzerland; Team Project)

Samantha Soriano* (Littleton, Colo.; COMMENCAL Junior Cartel)

Junior Men:

Gideon Bender  (Duvall, Wash.; Kona Junior Factory)

Joey Foresta (Salt Lake City, Utah; GT Factory Racing)

Zach Gareis* (Mars, Penn.; Billy Goat Bikes/Leatts Protectives Racing)

Cole Suetos (Temecula, Calif; InCycle Racing)

Nathan StClair (Statesville N.C.; Transition Bikes)

Elite Women:

Abigail Hogie (Heidleberg, Germany; Pivot Cycles Devo)

 

Elite Men:

Aaron Gwin* (Murrieta, Calif.; The YT Mob)

Charlie Harrison* (Trabuco Canyon, Calif.; Intense Factory Racing)

Neko Mulally* (Pisgah Forest, N.C.; The YT Mob)

Kiran MacKinnon* (Santa Cruz, Calif.; Santa Cruz Bicycles)

Nik Nesteroff (San Marcos, Calif.; KHS Factory Racing)

Dakotah Norton* (Davidson, Mich.; Unior Devinci Factory Racing)

Luca Shaw* (Hendersonville, N.C.; Santa Cruz Bicycles)

 

XCO

Junior Women:

Katie Clouse (Park City, Utah; Giant Liv Cycling Team)

Mina Ricci (Woodacre, Calif.; Bear Development Team p/b Trek)

Madeline Robbins* (Durango, Colo.; Bear Development Team p/b Trek)

Junior Men:

Nolan Jenkins (Colorado Springs, Colo.; Whole Athlete)

Paul Fabian (Prescott, Ariz.; Bear Development Team p/b Trek)

Scott Funston (Maple Valley, Wash.; Team Kona)

Quinn Simmons* (Durango, Colo. Whole Athlete)

Kevin Vermaerke* (Rancho San Margarita, Calif; Whole Athlete)

Jake Yackle (Spokane, Wash.; Yackle Brothers Racing)

U23 Women:

Haley Batten* (Park City, Utah; Clif Pro Team)

Savilia Blunk* (Inverness, Calif.; Whole Athlete)

Gwendalyn Gibson (Ramona, Calif.; NORCO Racing)

U23 Men:

Christopher Blevins* (Durango, Colo.; Specialized Bicycles Factory Racing Team)

Carson Beckett (Brevard, N.C.; Bear Pro Team p/b Trek)

Jerry Dufour (Birmingham, AL; Bear Pro Team p/b Trek)

Cole Paton* (Durango, Colo.; Giant Factory Off-Road Team)

Sandy Floren* (Berkeley, Calif.; Bear Pro Team p/b Trek)

Elite Women:

Kate Courtney* (San Francisco, Calif.; Specialized Bicycles Factory Racing Team)

Lea Davidson* (Syracuse, N.Y.; Clif Pro Team)

Erin Huck* (Boulder, Colo.; CZ Racing)

Ellen Noble (Kennebunkport, Maine; Trek Factory Racing Team)

Chloe Woodruff* (Prescott, Ariz.; Stan’s-Pivot Pro Team p/b Maxxis)

Elite Men:

Howard Grotts* (Durango, Colo.; Specialized Bicycles Factory Racing Team)

Keegan Swenson (Park City, Utah; Stan’s-Pivot Pro Team p/b Maxxis)

Luke Vrouwenvelder (Chapel Hill, N.C.)

USA Cycling selection criteria is available here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/imm-usac-uat-bucket-16e9mh4tuo6kc/documents/FINAL-2018-MTB-WORLDS-DHI-ATHLETE-SELECTION-CRITERIA.pdf

Feature photo: © 2017 Bruce Buckley