USA Cycling Names 2021 UCI Road World Championship Team

September 2, 2021

Twenty-six riders will head to Flanders to represent the U.S. for the 2021 UCI Road World Championships.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Cycling announced today the athletes who will represent the United States at the 2021 UCI Road World Championships that will take place in the Flanders region of Belgium on September 19-26, 2021.

The nine days of racing will start with the Elite Men’s Time Trial. For the men, Tokyo Olympian and reigning Time Trial National Champion Lawson Craddock (Houston; EF Education – Nippo) and 23-year-old Brandon McNulty (Phoenix; UAE Team Emirates), fresh off his sixth place in the Olympic Road Race, will be taking on the race against the clock. For the Elite Women,  Tokyo Olympian and multi-time World Champion Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif.; Cogeas Mettler Look Pro Cycling) and fellow Tokyo Olympian Leah Thomas (Santa Clara, Calif.; Movistar Team Women) will take to the course.

The USA will send a talented group to compete on a challenging course in the men’s and women’s road races. Thomas will be joined in the road race by 2021 U.S. Road Race National Champion Lauren Stephens (Dallas; Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank), 72-time US National Champion Coryn Rivera(Tunstin, Calif.; Team DSM), Ruth Winder (Boulder, Colo.; Trek-Segafredo), Tayler Wiles (Fairfax, Calif.; Trek-Segafredo), and Kristen Faulkner (Homer, Alaska; Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank). On the men’s side – in addition to Craddock and McNulty – 2021 Donosita San Sebastian Klasikoa Winner Neilson Powless (Roseville, Calif.; EF Education – Nippo) will be joined by 2021 U.S. National Champion Joey Rosskopf (Decatur, Ga.; Rally Cycling), 2019 Junior Road Race World Champion Quinn Simmons (Durango, Colo.; Trek-Segafredo), and Matteo Jorgenson (Boise, Idaho; Movistar Team).

Jeff Pierce, USA Cycling’s Director of Elite Athletics for Road and Track, is optimistic about the strong riders who were selected, “The (U.S. National) Team is filled with some of the strongest riders the U.S. has, who complement each other’s strengths. We have an excellent group of Juniors, U23s, and Elites who have won multiple World Championship medals. With the recent success from our riders, we’re in a good position for a medal finish in multiple races.”

Among the Juniors riders on the U.S. National Team are several 2021 National Champions: Olivia Cummins (Fort Collins, Colo.; LUX/Sideshow p/b Specialized), Makayla MacPherson (Corona, Calif.; LUX/Sideshow p/b Specialized), Cole Kessler (Newbury Park, Calif.; LUX/Sideshow p/b Specialized) and Colby Simmons (Durango, Colo.; LUX/Sideshow p/b Specialized). In addition, bronze medalist in the 2019 Junior Men’s Road Race World Championship and unofficial Junior Men 3000-meter record holder Magnus Sheffield (Pittsford, N.Y.; Rally Cycling) and 2021 U.S Elite Criterium National Champion Luke Lamperti (Sebastopol, Calif.; Trinity Racing) will headline the U23 Men’s squad.

“After a difficult year of racing, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we’re excited to put forth a team that has had strong results recently. After the success we saw in 2019 with our development riders, we’re excited to see our riders take on the U23 and Junior World Championships after a two-year break for those races,” said Jim Miller, USA Cycling’s Chief of Sports Performance.

The Team USA roster is as follows:

Time Trial

Elite Men

Lawson Craddock (Houston; EF Education – Nippo)
Brandon McNulty (Phoenix; UAE Team Emirates)

Elite Women

Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif.; Cogeas Mettler Look Pro Cycling)
Leah Thomas (Santa Clara, Calif.; Movistar Team Women)

U23 Men

Matthew Riccitello (Tucson, Ariz.; Hagens Berman Axeon)

Magnus Sheffield (Pittsford, N.Y.; Rally Cycling)

Junior Women

Olivia Cummins (Fort Collins, Colo.; LUX/Sideshow p/b Specialized)
Makayla MacPherson (Corona, Calif.; LUX/Sideshow p/b Specialized)

Junior Men

Alex Gustin (San Diego; LUX/Sideshow p/b Specialized)
Cole Kessler (Newbury Park, Calif.; LUX/Sideshow p/b Specialized)

Road Race

Junior Men

Alex Gustin (San Diego; LUX/Sideshow p/b Specialized)
Cole Kessler (Newbury Park, Calif.; LUX/Sideshow p/b Specialized)
Artem Shmidt (Cummingm Ga.; Mission Devo Cycling p/b Tyler Perry Studios)
Colby Simmons (Durango, Colo.; LUX/Sideshow p/b Specialized)

U23 Men

Luke Lamperti (Sebastopol, Calif.; Trinity Racing)
Sean Quinn (Sherman Oaks, Calif.; Hagens Berman Axeon)
Matthew Riccitello (Tucson, Ariz.; Hagens Berman Axeon)
Magnus Sheffield (Pittsford, N.Y.; Rally Cycling)
Kevin Vemaerke (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.; Team DSM)

Junior Women

Olivia Cummins (Fort Collins, Colo.; LUX/Sideshow p/b Specialized)
Makayla MacPherson (Corona, Calif.; LUX/Sideshow p/b Specialized)
Chloe Patrick (Carson, Calif.)
Kaia Schmid (Marblehead, Mass.; LUX/Sideshow p/b Specialized)

Elite Women

Kristen Faulkner (Homer, Alaska; Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank)
Coryn Rivera (Tustin, Calif.; Team DSM)
Lauren Stephens (Dallas; Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank)
Leah Thomas (Santa Clara, Calif.; Movistar Team Women)
Tayler Wiles (Fairfax, Calif.; Trek-Segafredo)
Ruth Winder (Boulder, Colo.; Trek-Segafredo)

Elite Men

Lawson Craddock (Houston; EF Education – Nippo)
Matteo Jorgenson (Boise, Idaho; Movistar Team)
Brandon McNulty (Phoenix; UAE Team Emirates)
Neilson Powless (Roseville, Calif.; EF Education – Nippo)
Quinn Simmons (Durango, Colo.; Trek-Segafredo)

Joey Rosskopf (Decatur, Ga.; Rally Cycling)

Selection criteria can be found here.

Schedule

Sunday, September 19 – Elite Men’s Time Trial
Monday, September 20 – Elite Women and U23 Men’s Time Trials
Tuesday, September 21 – Junior Women and Junior Men’s Time Trials
Wednesday, September 22 – Mixed Team Time Trial Relay
Friday, September 24 – U23 Men and Junior Men’s Road Races
Saturday, September 25 – Junior Women and Elite Women’s Road Races
Sunday, September 26 – Elite Men’s Road Race

For more about the 2021 UCI Road World Championships, please visit the event website.

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

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

ABOUT USA CYCLING (usacycling.org)

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).