January 14/14 19:00 pm - USA Cycling Announces Cyclo-cross Worlds Team

Posted by Editor on 01/14/14
 

USA Cycling has announced the 22 riders named to its roster of elite, U23 and Junior athletes that will represent the United States at the 2014 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, February 1-2, in Hoogerheide, Netherlands.

"After a very competitive year of cyclo-cross racing, culminating with the national championships in Boulder, we are able to name four very competitive world championship teams," said USA Cycling Cyclo-cross Program Director Marc Gullickson. "With a number of outright medal contenders being joined by a mix of accomplished veterans and future stars, I expect the team to be very competitive at the Championships in Hoogerheide this year."

Elite Women

After notching her 10th straight national championship win on Sunday, Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Trek Cyclocross Collective) will be seeking her first world championship win as she leads the elite women's squad in Hoogerheide. Compton earned her automatic nomination after a silver-medal performance at last year's world championships in Louisville, Ky. She will head into this year's Worlds with back-to-back World Cup titles on her resume and as the top-ranked American in the UCI rankings, winning five of the six World Cup events held so far this season.

Kaitlin Antonneau (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) also earned an automatic nomination to the elite women's squad as the second-ranked U.S. athlete in the UCI rankings as well as for her two top-10 finishes in World Cups this season (ninth at World Cup #2 in Tabor, Czech Republic, and seventh at World Cup #4 in Namur, Belgium). The 22-year old Antonneau won both the women's Collegiate Division I and the U23 women's national titles in Boulder this past weekend, and placed seventh in the elite women's race.

Joining Compton and Antonneau with automatic nominations to the team are USA Cycling Professional Cyclo-cross Calendar (Pro CX) standings winner Elle Anderson (San Francisco, Calif./ California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized) and Meredith Miller (Boulder, Colo./ California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized). Anderson qualifies as the third-ranked U.S. athlete in the UCI rankings as well as for having accumulated the most UCI ranking points from the six designated domestic UCI events. Miller qualifies by virtue of her sixth-place finish at UCI World Cup #2 in Tabor, Czech Republic.

Two discretionary selections round out the elite women's team: Crystal Anthony (Beverly, Mass./Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) and Arley Kemmerer (Saylorsburg, Pa./Charm City Cycling LLC). Anthony was fourth at Nationals, has three top-20 finishes at World Cup events this season, and has amassed 167 UCI ranking points at domestic UCI races. Kemmerer placed 11th at Nationals and also boasts three top-20 finishes at World Cups during the 2013-14 season.

Elite Men

Jeremy Powers (Easthampton, Mass./Rapha-Focus) automatically qualified as the top-ranked U.S. rider in the UCI rankings, as well as by winning the 2014 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships on Sunday in Boulder, Colo., and by having accumulated the most ranking points from the six U.S. UCI selection races. Powers also topped the USA Cycling Professional Cyclo-cross Calendar (Pro CX) men's standings this season.

Also grabbing automatic invitations to the world championship start line are Tim Johnson (Topsfield, Mass./Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) and Ryan Trebon (Bend, Ore./Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) who are the second- and third-ranked U.S. riders in the UCI's elite men's rankings, respectively, following Sunday's national championships.

The three automatic qualifiers will be joined in the elite men's race by three discretionary picks: Jonathan Page (Northfield, N.H./Fuji-Spyoptics), Allen Krughoff (Boulder, Colo./Raleigh Clement) and Zach McDonald (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Rapha-Focus). Page and Krughoff were sixth and fifth, respectively, at cyclo-cross Nationals, while McDonald, a member of last year's U23 men's team at the world championships, collected 33 ranking points at six U.S. UCI selection races.

U23 Men

Logan Owen (Bremerton, Wash./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized) was the lone auto qualifier for the U23 men's race. He grabbed his invite by winning the U23 national championship on Saturday and also by having the highest UCI point total from three of the four domestic selection races.

Owen will be joined on the team by four discretionary picks: Curtis White (Delanson, N.Y./Cannondale p/b Cyclocross World.com), Yannick Eckmann (Boulder, Colo./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized), Cody Kaiser (El Dorado Hills, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized) and Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized). Each of these four riders finished in the top five of Saturday's U23 national championship race.

Junior Men

Peter Goguen (Hopedale, Mass./Race CF) and Maxx Chance (Boulder, Colo./Clif Bar Development Cross Team) both received automatic nominations to the Junior men's squad. Goguen captured the Junior men's national title on Sunday in Boulder to earn his automatic nomination to the world championships, while Chance, who was second to Goguen in that race, earns an automatic nod after accumulating the most UCI ranking points in three of four domestic selection events.

Goguen and Chance will line up with three discretionary teammates: Austin Vincent (Simsbury, Conn./Race CF), Cooper Willsey (Hinesburg, Vt./Cannondale p/b Cyclocross World.com) and Gavin Haley (Louisville, Ky./Red Zone Cycling Elite). All three raced well in Europe last month, and on Sunday Vincent placed third at the national championships, while Willsey finished seventh and Haley 12th.

Elite Women
Elle Anderson (San Francisco, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized)
Crystal Anthony (Beverly, Mass./Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
Kaitlin Antonneau (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com)
Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Trek Cyclocross Collective)
Arley Kemmerer (Saylorsburg, Pa./Charm City Cycling LLC)
Meredith Miller (Boulder, Colo./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized)

Elite Men
Tim Johnson (Topsfield, Mass./Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com)
Allen Krughoff (Boulder, Colo./Raleigh Clement)
Zach McDonald (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Rapha-Focus)
Jonathan Page (Northfield, N.H./Fuji-Spyoptics)
Jeremy Powers (Easthampton, Mass./ Rapha-Focus)
Ryan Trebon (Bend, Ore./Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com)

U23 Men
Yannick Eckmann (Boulder, Colo./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized)
Cody Kaiser (El Dorado Hills, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized)
Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized).
Logan Owen (Bremerton, Wash./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized)
Curtis White (Delanson, N.Y./Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com)

Juniors Men
Maxx Chance (Boulder, Colo./Clif Bar Development Cross Team)
Peter Goguen (Hopedale, Mass./Race CF)
Gavin Haley (Louisville, Ky./Red Zone Cycling Elite)
Austin Vincent (Simsbury, Conn./Race CF)
Cooper Willsey (Hinesburg, Vt./Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com)

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