USA Cycling announced today the final roster of athletes representing the United States in both cross country and downhill at the 2021 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships taking place August 25 – 29, 2021 in Val di Sole, Italy.
An all-star squad for the cross-country event will highlight riders who have had international success at last year’s Mountain Bike World Championships in Leogang, Austria. The team will showcase recent Olympians Haley Batten (Park City, Utah; Trinity Racing), Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif.; SCOTT-SRAM Factory Racing), and Erin Huck (Estes Park, Colo.; SCOTT-Stages) for the Elite Women. Batten took fourth in the U23 Women’s race last year and will compete in her first Elite Women’s World Championship. Fellow Olympian Christopher Blevins (Durango, Colo.; Trinity Racing) will also be moving up to the Elites, but on the Men‘s side, after taking home a silver at the 2020 Mountain Bike World Championships in the U23 category.
Joining the Olympians is Riley Amos (Durango, Colo.; Bear National Team), who rode to fourth in Leogang in the Junior Men’s Cross-Country race. Amos came out of the junior ranks flying and working his way up in positions at every U23 World Cup this year. He went back to Leogang for World Cup #3 and was the first male to ever win a World Cup in USA Cycling history.
Dakotah Norton (Oliver Springs, Tenn.; The YT Mob) has proven to be the fastest rider in the U.S. this year with a Top-10 at the Leogang World Cup and winning the National Championships. Junior Christopher Grice (Brevard, N.C.; Specialized Factory Racing) is looking for a podium finish this year in his last year as a junior. Grice is the next generation of DH racing keeping his times competitive with the elites. Kailey Skelton (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.; KHS Factory Racing/Monster Energy) will get a taste of international racing after having a blazing fast run at National Championships. Ella Erickson (Hayden, Idaho; Commencal USA) will headline the Junior Women’s field with several World Cup podiums on her resume. The Downhill squad is heading over to Europe to race the Maribor World Cup in preparations for the World Championships.
Among the other American competitors are several 2021 National Champions, crowned in at the 2021 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships in Winter Park, Colo.:
Dakotah Norton, Kailey Skelton, Christopher Grice, Ella Erickson, Erin Huck, Keegan Swenson, Savilia Blunk, Riley Amos, Ruth Holcomb, Bradyn Johnson
Jim Miller, USA Cycling’s Chief of Sport Performance, is eager to see the World’s best compete, especially after the Olympic Games and the Mountain Bike National Championships. Miller said, “We are excited about both the Cross-Country and Downhill teams selected. America has a resurgence of talent racing on the dirt and we’re optimistic in what they can accomplish in Val di Sole.”
The Team USA roster is as follows:
Cross-Country
Elite Women:
Haley Batten (Park City, Utah; Trinity Racing)
Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif.; SCOTT-SRAM Factory Racing)
Lea Davison (Jericho, Vt.; Team TWENTY24)
Erin Huck (Estes Park, Colo.; SCOTT-Stages)
Hannah Finchamp (Salt Lake City; Orange Seal Off-Road Team)
Kelsey Urban (Kentfield, Calif.; Team 31: Outride)
Elite Men:
Christopher Blevins (Durango, Colo.; Trinity Racing)
Stephan Davoust (Durango, Colo.; Giant Factory Off-Road Team)
Keegan Swenson (Park City Utah; Santa Cruz Bicycles)
Luke Vrouwenvelder (Chapel Hill, N.C; Giant Factory Off-Road Team)
U23 Women:
Savilia Blunk (Inverness, Calif.; Orange Seal Racing)
Gwendalyn Gibson (Ramona, Calif.; Norco Bicycles)
Madigan Munro (Boulder, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing)
U23 Men:
Riley Amos (Durango, Colo.; Bear National Team)
Bjorn Riley (Boulder, Colo.; Bear National Team)
Robbie Day (Evergreen, Colo.; Bear National Team)
Junior Women:
Lauren Aggeler (Durango, Colo.; Bear National Team)
Mia Aseltine (Littleton, Colo.; WE Development)
Bailey Cioppa (Durango, Colo.; Bear Development Team)
Sofia Forney (Lakewood, Colo.; WE Development)
Ruth Holcomb (Durango, Colo.; Bear National Team)
Makena Kellerman (Escondido, Colo.; Bear National Team)
Tai-Lee Smith (Breckenridge, Colo.; Bear National Team)
Junior Men:
Austin Beard (Middlesex, Vt.; Bicycle Express Racing)
Carson Beard (Middlesex, Vt.; Bicycle Express Racing)
Carson Hampton (Boise, Idaho; Bear Development Team)
Bradyn Johnson (Jordan, Utah; Bear National Team)
Cayden Parker (Hot Springs, Ark.; Bear National Team)
Ivan Sippy (Duango, Colo.; Durango Segment 28)
Downhill
Elite Women:
Mazie Hayden (Pittsfield, Vt.; Defiant Racing)
Abigail Hogie (Heidelberg, Germany; Tillit Gravity Team)
Anna Newkirk (Riehen, Switzerland; Canyon)
Kailey Skelton (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.; KHS Factory Racing)
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)
Nikolas Nesteroff (San Diego, Calif.; KHS Factory Racing)
Dakotah Norton (Oliver Springs, Tenn.; The YT Mob)
Luca Shaw (Hendersonville, N.C.; Santa Cruz Syndicate)
Dante Silva (Chula Vista, Calif.; Canyon)
Junior Women:
Emma Artz (Kirkland, Wash.)
Ella Erickson (Hayden, Idaho; Commencal USA)
Junior Men:
Andrew Driscoll (Bow, N.H.; Defiant Racing)
Christopher Grice (Brevard, N.C.; Specialized Factory Racing)
Dean Lindsey (Pleasanton, Calif.)
Dylan Maples (Orangevale, Calif.; Commencal)
Selection criteria are available for Cross-Country here and Downhill here.
Schedule
Wednesday, August 25: XCO Team Relay
Thursday, August 26: XCO Juniors and Short Track
Friday, August 27: E-MTB and Four Cross
Saturday, August 28: XCO U23 and Elite
Sunday, August 29: Downhill Finals
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