USA Cycling announced today the athletes who will represent the United States in the Elite Men’s and Women’s Time Trial and Road Race at the 2020 UCI Road World Championships that will take place in Imola, Italy on September 24-27, 2020.
The competition formatting has been adapted due to the current state of the global pandemic. The only races that will be contested this year are the Elite Men’s and Women’s Time Trial and Road Race. The decision was made based on the majority of top athletes in the Elite categories already in Europe, while many Junior and Under-23 categories will face travel restrictions across numerous countries. Limiting the racing means a large majority of young riders will not to be unfairly prevented from having the possibility to participate. Last year, USA Cycling earned six medals at Road Worlds in Yorkshire with five of those medals coming from the Junior and U23 fields. Megan Jastrab (Apple Valley, Calif; Rally Cycling) and Quinn Simmons (Durango, Colo; Trek-Segafrado) will both keep their World titles for the year, although Simmons is no longer racing in the Junior category.
The long weekend of racing will start out with the Elite Time Trial. Among the women competing is reigning World Champion Chloe Dygert (Brownsburg, Ind.; TWENTY20). Dygert’s dominant performance went down in history, winning by more than one-and-a-half minutes. Last year, two-time ITT World Champion Amber Neben (Lake Forest, Calif.; Cogeas–Mettler Cycling Team) finished just outside the podium in fourth. 2019 Pan American ITT Champion Leah Thomas (Santa Clara, Calif.; Équipe Paule Ka) will also be competing. For the men, we will see six-time Road World Championship U.S. National Team member Lawson Craddock (Houston, Texas; EF Education First Pro Cycling) and 22-year-old Brandon McNulty (Phoenix, Ariz; UAE Team Emirates). McNulty finished third in the Under-23 category in 2019.
Jeff Pierce, USA Cycling’s Director of Elite Athletics for Road and Track is optimistic about the strong riders who were selected, “With limited racing this year, we have still seen many stand-out results. After last year’s World Championship performances, along with the recent success from our riders, we’re in a good position for medal finishes.”
On Saturday and Sunday, Team USA will send a talented group to compete on a challenging course in the men’s and women’s road races. The women’s time trialists will be joined in the road race by 2019 US Road Race National Champion Ruth Winder (Lafayette, Calif.; Trek-Segafredo), 72-time US National Champion Coryn Rivera (Newport Beach, Calif.; Team Sunweb), Lauren Stephens (Mesquite, Texas; Team TIBCO Silicon Valley Bank) and Tayler Wiles (Fairfax, Calif.; Trek-Segafredo). On the men’s side – in addition to Craddock and McNulty – 2020 Critérium Du Dauphine stage winner Sepp Kuss (Durango, Colo.; Team Jumbo Visma) will compete along with Neilson Powless(Roseville, Calif.; EF Education First Pro Cycling), who just finished fourth in Stage 6 of the 2020 Tour de France.
“This has been the year of resiliency and adaptability for the team. Everyone has had good days and bad days, been motivated and unmotivated. Despite the challenges we have all faced, I believe we have a highly focused team, and we expect to have a team capable of competing with the best in the world,” said Jim Miller, USA Cycling’s Chief of Sports Performance.
The Team USA roster is as follows:
Individual Time Trial
Women:
Chloe Dygert (Brownsburg, Ind.; TWENTY20)
Amber Neben (Lake Forest, Calif.; Cogeas–Mettler Cycling Team)
Leah Thomas (Santa Clara, Calif.; Equipe Paule Ka)
Men:
Lawson Craddock (Houston, Texas; EF Education First Pro Cycling)
Brandon McNulty (Phoenix, Ariz; UAE Team Emirates)
Road Race
Women:
Chloe Dygert (Brownsburg, Ind.; TWENTY20)
Amber Neben (Lake Forest, Calif.; Cogeas–Mettler Cycling Team)
Coryn Rivera (Newport Beach, Calif.; Team Sunweb)
Lauren Stephens (Mesquite, Texas; Team TIBCO Silicon Valley Bank)
Leah Thomas (Santa Clara, Calif.; Équipe Paule Ka)
Tayler Wiles (Fairfax, Calif.; Trek-Segafredo)
Ruth Winder (Lafayette, Calif.; Trek-Segafredo)
Men:
Lawson Craddock (Houston, Texas; EF Education First Pro Cycling)
Brandon McNulty (Phoenix, Ariz; UAE Team Emirates)
Sepp Kuss (Durango, Colo; Team Jumbo Visma)
Neilson Powless (Roseville, Calif.; EF Education First Pro Cycling)