USA Cycling Announces 2022 Mountain Bike Worlds Team

August 3, 2022

Team USA is headed to Les Gets, France for the World Championships in Short Track, Cross-Country, Downhill, E-bike, and Team Relay.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo./ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – USA Cycling announced today the athletes that will be representing the United States at the 2022 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Les Gets, France on August 22-28.

After impressive results this past weekend at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Snowshoe, W.V., the team is in a great position heading to the World Championships.

Defending Short Track World Champion Christopher Blevins (Durango, Colo.; Specialized Factory Racing) won his first elite XCO World Cup in Snowshoe in 2021 and came back this year to take his first Short Track World Cup win in front of the home crowd. He is in great shape heading into the World Championships to defend his title.

Gwendalyn Gibson (Ramona, Calif.; Norco Bicycles) and Savilia Blunk (Inverness, Calif.; Orange Seal Off-Road Team) have had incredible results the past few weeks as well with Gibson winning the UCI Short Track World Cup and Blunk powering to her first Elite Cross-Country National Championship win. Both ladies also placed in the Top-10 at Snowshoe in their first-year racing in the elite XCO category.

XCO veterans and Olympians Haley Batten (Park City, Utah; Specialized Factory Racing) and Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif.; SCOTT-SRAM Factory Racing) have been showing strong form recently and are looking to have a great end to their season.

In the U23 Men’s category, Riley Amos (Durango, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing) and Bjorn Riley (Boulder, Colo.; Team Trek VAUDE) are two of the favorites going into the men’s race. Amos has landed on several World Cup podiums this season, even becoming the first-ever American male to win a U23 World Cup in 2021. Unfortunately, he broke his collarbone at the National Championships, but is looking to make a quick recovery and be back in time for Worlds. Bjorn Riley went on to win the U23 National Title then narrowly missed out on a win in Snowshoe landing in second place on his first World Cup podium.

The U23 women’s category will be headlined by Madigan Munro (Boulder, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing) who powered to her first U23 World Cup podium last weekend in Snowshoe after winning the U23 Cross-Country National Championship earlier in the week at Winter Park, Colo.

Jesse Anthony, USA Cycling’s Director of Cyclocross and Mountain Bike said, “The USA Cycling National Team showed what we’re capable of at Snowshoe, and the athletes are well-prepared for this World Championships. The U.S. mountain bike athletes have had a relatively quiet season on the World Cup circuit, and we have been slowly building momentum toward the end of the season. We are in an excellent position going into the World Championships, and U.S. fans have a lot to be excited about as the team heads to Les Gets.”

The downhill team has been showing impressive results this season with the usual heavy hitters like National Champion Dakotah Norton (Oliver Springs, Tenn.; Intense Factory Racing), Aaron Gwin (Morongo Valley, Calif.; Intense Factory Racing), and Luca Shaw (Hendersonville, N.C.; Canyon Cllctv). The next generation has been making a splash in the Elite category with Dante Silva (Chula Vista, Calif.; Canyon Cllctv Pirelli), Austin Dooley (Yucaipa, Calif.; Commencal USA), and Christopher Grice  (Brevard, N.C.; Specialized Factory Racing) all continuously improving their results week after week on the World Cup circuit. On the Elite women’s side, Anna Newkirk (Riehen, Switzerland; Beyond Racing) and Abby Hogie (Heidelberg, Germany; Beyond Racing) just came off of their best results of the season at the Snowshoe World Cup finishing 9th and 12th, respectively.

The Team USA roster is as follows:

Cross-Country

Elite Men

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

Elite Women

Haley Batten (Park City, Utah; Specialized Factory Racing)

Savilia Blunk (Inverness, Calif.; Orange Seal Off-Road Team)

Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif.; SCOTT-SRAM Factory Racing)

Gwendalyn Gibson (Ramona, Calif.; Norco Bicycles)

Hannah Otto (Salt Lake City; Pivot Cycles/ DT Swiss)

Kelsey Urban (Kentfield, Calif.; Team 31: Outride)

U23 Men

Riley Amos (Durango, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing)

Robbie Day (Evergreen, Colo.; Bear National Team)

Brayden Johnson (Jordan, Utah; Bear National Team)

Bjorn Riley (Boulder, Colo.; Team Trek VAUDE)

Austin Beard (Middlesex, Vt.; Bicycle Express Racing)

U23 Women

Sofia Waite (Littleton, Colo.; WE Development)

Ruth Holcomb (Durango, Colo.; Bear National Team)

Lauren Lackman (Wausau, Wisc.; Rib Mountain Cycles)

Madigan Munro (Boulder, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing)

Junior Men

Jack Spranger (Sammamish, Wash.; Bear National Team)

Cayden Parker (Hot Springs, Ark.; Bear National Team)

Daniel English (San Ramon, Calif.; Voler/Easton/HRS/Rock Lobster)

Junior Women

Lauren Aggeler (Durango, Colo.; Bear National Team)

Bailey Cioppa (Durango, Colo.; Bear National Team)

Chloe Fraser (Boulder, Colo.; Boulder Junior Cycling)

Downhill

Elite Men

Austin Dooley (Yucaipa, Calif.; Commencal USA)

Christopher Grice  (Brevard, N.C.; Specialized Factory Racing)

Aaron Gwin (Morongo Valley, Calif.; Intense Factory Racing)

Neko Mulally (Pisgah Forest, N.C.; Frameworks Racing)

Dakotah Norton (Clinton, Tenn.; Intense Factory Racing)

Luca Shaw (Hendersonville, N.C.; Canyon Cllctv)

Dante Silva (Chula Vista, Calif.; Canyon Cllctv Pirelli)

Elite Women

Ella Erickson (Hayden, Idaho; NW Gravity Collective)

Abby Hogie (Heidelberg, Germany; Beyond Racing)

Anna Newkirk (Riehen, Switzerland; Beyond Racing)

Kailey Skelton (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.; KHS Factory Racing)\

Junior Men

Andrew Driscoll (Bow, N.H.; Defiant Racing)

Colin McElyea (Scottsdale, Ariz.; Evolve Racing)

Evan Medcalf (Albuquerque, N.M.; Evolve Racing)

Alden Pate (Snohomish, Wash.; Transition)

Ryan Pinkerton (Aliso Viejo, Calif.; GT Factory Racing)

Tyler Zenoni (Short Hills, N.J.)

Junior Women

Riley Miller (East Burke, Vt.; Commencal USA)

E-MTB

Men

Dave Harrison (Sun Valley, Idaho)

Nat Ross (Golden, Colo.; Tough Guy Productions)

Gerald White (Tampa, Fla.)

Women

Shane Ferro (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Ashley Hendershot (Mansfield, Ohio)

Visit USACycling.org for more information about athletes, events, and membership programs. Follow @USACycling across all channels for the latest on Team USA.

For more information, please contact Angelina Palermo at apalermo@usacycling.org.

ABOUT USA CYCLING

USA Cycling is the national governing body for the sport of cycling and oversees the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclocross, and BMX. USA Cycling’s mission is to champion accessibility, participation, and excellence in the sport of cycling to make more Americans healthier, happier, and better on two wheels while achieving sustained international racing success. USA Cycling supports cyclists at all levels, from those just beginning in the sport and participating in fun rides to international caliber racers. The organization identifies, develops, and selects cyclists to represent the United States in international competition through the support of kids’ and interscholastic programs, amateur bike racing and grassroots development programs, and the provision of critical infrastructure to run organized racing. USA Cycling has a membership of 100,000, annually sanctions over 2,500 events, and is a proud member of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).