23 athletes have been named across the five Olympic disciplines of Road, Mountain Bike, Track, BMX Racing, and BMX Freestyle.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (July 11, 2024) — By Angelina Palermo — Over the past few weeks, USA Cycling has announced the athletes who have been selected for the U.S. Olympic team that will be competing at Paris 2024 from July 26-August 11. Across all five Olympic cycling disciplines, 23 athletes have been named to the Olympic Team for Road, Mountain Bike, Track, BMX Racing, and BMX Freestyle.
Out of the 23 riders, 12 of them are returning to the Olympic Games. This will be a fourth appearance for 33-year-old Olympic silver medalist Alise Willoughby (Saint Cloud, Minn.; Team Toyota/ Daylight Cycle Co.), and a third appearance for Olympic medalists Chloé Dygert (Brownsburg, Ind.; CANYON//SRAM Racing) and Jennifer Valente (San Diego; Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY24). The team spreads coast to coast representing 18 states across the nation.
Headlining the team are four current World Champions – Chloé Dygert (Road – Time Trial), Jennifer Valente (Track – Omnium), Alise Willoughby (BMX Racing), and Hannah Roberts (BMX Freestyle). Several American riders have had standout performances this year looking to make their mark at the Games.
In addition to Dygert’s 2023 Time Trial World Title, the entire men’s road team, Brandon McNulty (Phoenix; UAE Team Emirates), Magnus Sheffield (Pittsford, N.Y.; Ineos Grenadiers), and Matteo Jorgenson (Boise, Idaho; Team Visma – Lease a Bike), have ridden to World Tour wins or podiums this year. On the women’s side, Taylor Knibb (Washington, D.C.; Trek Factory Racing) will be competing in two sports at the Games – cycling and triathlon. She will take on the Time Trial, while Kristen Faulkner (Homer, Alaska; EF-Oatly-Cannondale) will join the peloton in the Road Race.
Glasgow UCI World Championships -Elite Women Individual Time Trial. Photo by Ethan Glading, courtesy USA Cycling
Brandon McNulty. Photo by Casey Gibson, courtesy USA Cycling
Magnus Sheffield. Photo by Casey Gibson, courtesy USA Cycling
Matteo Jorgeson. Photo by Casey Gibson, courtesy USA Cycling
The mountain bike team has demonstrated their dominance in the early season races with Haley Batten (Park City, Utah; Specialized Factory Racing) and Christopher Blevins (Durango, Colo.; Specialized Factory Racing) taking Elite World Cup victories, while Riley Amos (Durango, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing) remains undefeated in the U23 Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) events. Savilia Blunk (Inverness, Calif.; Decathlon-Ford Racing Team) has consistently ridden to podium placings this year.
Haley Batten. Photo by Jack Tennyson, courtesy USA Cycling
Christopher Blevins. Photo by Jack Tennyson, courtesy USA Cycling
On the track, Omnium Olympic Champion Jennifer Valente (San Diego; Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY24) scored five Nations Cup podiums this year, two of which were in the Madison with teammate Lily Williams (Tallahassee, Fla.; Human Powered Health). With the help of Valente, Williams, and Dygert, the team has been hard at work building the Team Pursuit program with newcomers Kristen Faulkner (Homer, Alaska; EF-Oatly-Cannondale) and Olivia Cummins (Fort Collins, Colo.; DNA Pro Cycling). On the men’s side, Grant Koontz (Houston, Texas; Star Track Cycling) will compete in the Olympic Omnium.
In addition to Willoughby’s monumental World Championship win in Rock Hill, Team USA had four women in the main event at the World Championships, including Felicia Stancil (Lake Villa, Ill.; Factory SSquared/Answer) and Daleny Vaughn (Tucson, Ariz.; Biolab Sciences/ DK Bicycles). Earlier this year, Kamren Larsen (Bakersfield, Calif.; Factory SSquared/Answer) scored his first elite World Cup podium in Tulsa while Cameron Wood (Bozeman, Mont.; Mongoose/USA BMX Foundation) qualified for several World Cup finals after returning from shoulder injuries.
The BMX Freestyle Olympic Qualifier Series was the ultimate preview of the Games. At the last round in Budapest, Roberts and Perris Benegas (Reno, Nev.; Haro BMX) finished first and second, along with 21-year-old Marcus Christopher (Canton, Ohio; DK Bicycles) taking silver. The same group repeated their podium appearances at X Games Ventura shortly after. Roberts and Benegas competed in the first-ever women’s park contest finishing one-two again and Christopher won his first X Games gold. 2018 World Champion Justin Dowell (Virginia Beach, Va.; Hyper BMX) has been riding strong this year, automatically qualifying him for the Games through the Olympic Qualifier Series.
All events will be streamed live on Peacock. Learn more about how to watch: Road, Mountain Bike, Track, BMX Racing, and BMX Freestyle.
2024 U.S. Olympic Cycling Team:
Road:Women:
Chloé Dygert (Brownsburg, Ind.; CANYON//SRAM Racing) – Time Trial & Road Race
Taylor Knibb (Washington, D.C.; Trek Factory Racing) – Time Trial. Knobby’s will also compete in the Triathlon.
Kristen Faulkner (Homer, Alaska; EF-Oatly-Cannondale) – Road Race
Men:
Brandon McNulty (Phoenix; UAE Team Emirates) – Time Trial & Road Race
Magnus Sheffield (Pittsford, N.Y.; Ineos Grenadiers) – Time Trial & Road Race
Matteo Jorgenson (Boise, Idaho; Team Visma – Lease a Bike) – Road Race
Mountain Bike:Women:
Haley Batten (Park City, Utah; Specialized Factory Racing)
Savilia Blunk (Inverness, Calif.; Decathlon-Ford Racing Team)
Men:
Christopher Blevins (Durango, Colo.; Specialized Factory Racing)
Riley Amos (Durango, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing)
Track:Women:
Jennifer Valente (San Diego; Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY24) – Team Pursuit, Madison, Omnium
Chloé Dygert (Brownsburg, Ind.; CANYON//SRAM Racing) – Team Pursuit
Lily Williams (Tallahassee, Fla.; Human Powered Health) – Team Pursuit, Madison
Kristen Faulkner (Homer, Alaska; EF-Oatly-Cannondale) – Team Pursuit
Olivia Cummins (Fort Collins, Colo.; DNA Pro Cycling) – Team Pursuit
Men:
Grant Koontz (Houston, Texas; Star Track Cycling) – Omnium
BMX Racing:Women:
Alise Willoughby (Saint Cloud, Minn.; Team Toyota/ Daylight Cycle Co.)
Daleny Vaughn (Tucson, Ariz.; Biolab Sciences/ DK Bicycles)
Felicia Stancil (Lake Villa, Ill.; Factory SSquared/Answer)
Men:
Cameron Wood (Bozeman, Mont.; Mongoose/USA BMX Foundation)
Kamren Larsen (Bakersfield, Calif.; Factory SSquared/Answer)
BMX Freestyle:Women:
Hannah Roberts (Buchanan, Mich.; Hyper BMX)
Perris Benegas (Reno, Nev.; Haro BMX)
Men:
Marcus Christopher (Canton, Ohio; DK Bicycles)
Justin Dowell (Virginia Beach, Va.; Hyper BMX)
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