Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia) and Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) could be the overwhelming favourites for the elite males’s rainbow jersey on the UCI Highway World Championships, however USA Biking has put collectively a various staff of expertise together with Olympic gold medalist Kristen Faulkner with actual possibilities to win titles in different fields.
Historical past
The US has a really quick checklist of elite males’s world champions, with Greg LeMond successful two – the primary in 1983 when he soloed to victory in Altenrhein, Switzerland, and a second in 1989 in Chambéry, France. He additionally was second in 1982 and 1985.
Lance Armstrong is the final males’s world champion – he received to maintain the 1993 title he received in Copenhagen regardless of having nearly all of his file erased when he was banned for all times by USADA for doping in 2012.
Two US girls have received world titles within the street race: Audrey McElmury (1969) and Beth Heiden (1980). The nation has landed on the rostrum in 9 different editions, most lately with Megan Guarnier taking bronze in 2015 in Richmond, Virginia.
Chloe Dygert received the person time trial world title in 2023 and 2019, following on the success of Amber Neben (world champion in 2016 and 2008), Kristen Armstrong (2009, 2006), Mari Holden (2000), and Karen Brems (1994).
Taylor Phinney was the final American to face on the rostrum at Worlds within the time trial in 2012. Dave Zabriskie is the one different man from the USA to earn a medal, taking bronze in 2008 and silver in 2006.
Lineups
Elite Males: Matteo Jorgenson, Brandon McNulty, Neilson Powless, Riley Sheehan, Magnus Sheffield, Quinn Simmons, Kevin Vermaerke, Larry Warbasse
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Elite Girls: Chloe Dygert, Ruth Edwards, Emily Ehrlich, Kristen Faulkner, Heidi Franz, Amber Neben (TT solely), Lauren Stephens
U23 Males: AJ August, Gavin Hlady, Cole Kessler, Artem Shmidt, Colby Simmons
U23 Girls (mixed with elites): None
Junior Males: Grey Barnett, Ashlin Barry, Peyton Burckel, Braden Reitz, Noah Streif
Junior Girls: Lidia Cusack, Helena Jones, Vida Lopez de San Roman, Alyssa Sarkisov
Key Riders
Chloé Dygert
USA Biking have three former world champions within the staff for the 2024 Worlds, with Chloé Dygert returning to defend her title within the elite girls’s particular person time trial. The 2019 and 2023 world champion had a sparse street marketing campaign within the first half of the yr. Nevertheless, since successful the bronze medal on the Olympic Video games in Paris, she raced the Tour de France Femmes, taking a detailed second to Demi Vollering within the stage 3 time trial and taking second within the Traditional Lorient Agglomération in Plouay final month.
Dygert must deal with Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) who put in a shocking experience to win the European Championships, and Olympic champion Grace Brown (Australia) and silver medalist Anna Henderson (Nice Britain). However contemplating Dygert crashed in Paris and nonetheless received bronze, she’s the USA’s greatest hope for a gold medal if she will be able to have an incident-free time trial in Zurich.
Amber Neben (Time trial)
The 2-time world champion solely competes in a couple of choose occasions, managing to get to the highest of her sport particularly for championship occasions. She was third behind Dygert and winner Taylor Knibb on the US Nationwide Championships and received the Pan-American championships time trial. Each of her world titles got here in Olympic years so it might be unwise to low cost the 49-year-old for a 3rd in Zurich.
Brandon McNulty
The World Championships start this weekend with the elite particular person time trials the place Evenepoel and Primož Roglič (Slovenia) high the contenders checklist. Brandon McNulty is the USA’s high hope for the occasion, with Magnus Sheffield additionally participating.
It’d take a small miracle for the Individuals to greatest Evenepoel, who added the Olympic gold medal to his quickly rising palmares, however McNulty has a robust historical past in time trials, successful the Vuelta a España opener final month, the stage 3 time trial on the Tour de Romandie and stage 2 TT on the UAE Tour, all of which had been considerably shorter than what the 46.1-kilometre route the boys will face in Zurich.
Matteo Jorgenson
Within the street races, Pogačar has confirmed his spectacular type on the GP de Montréal and appears unbeatable, however Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) has had a terrific season with a win in Dwars door Vlaanderen. He has a robust sufficient staff of riders alongside him for the marquee race on September twenty ninth to offer the USA an opportunity on the medals.
The USA certified the utmost staff dimension for the boys’s races for the primary time since 2012, and have playing cards to play with McNulty, Neilson Powless, Magnus Sheffield and 2019 junior world champion Quinn Simmons whereas Riley Sheehan, Kevin Vermaerke and Larry Warbasse present depth.
Kristen Faulkner
Faulkner heads into the ladies’s street race as Olympic champion and a robust backup staff with nice alternatives for ways. Ruth Edwards and Lauren Stephens convey years of expertise, Dygert contributes a strong motor, whereas Heidi Franz and Emily Ehrlich might be available to regulate the early kilometres.
Faulkner had a stand-out season, successful the Omloop van het Hageland and two levels and second total within the Trofeo Ponente in Rosa within the spring. A stage win within the Vuelta a España and the US nationwide street race title adopted earlier than she shocked the world to win gold on the Olympics in Paris.
She skipped the same old tour of morning TV exhibits to race the Tour de France Femmes, her greatest place was fourth on stage 5.
The elite girls’s race is mixed with the under-23s, however USA Biking opted to not convey any espoir girls after Megan Jastrab declined her place.
Strengths
Within the males’s race, the chances are in opposition to the US staff, however one benefit they’ve is depth. Sean Quinn and Larry Warbasse are loyal staff, Vermaerke was third total within the Arctic Race of Norway.
Sheffield was sixth within the Tour of Flanders and third total within the Tour of Austria, Riley Sheehan received Paris-Excursions as a staigiare final yr and was on the rostrum of the Eschborn-Frankfurt in Could, whereas McNulty received the GP Miguel Indurain in March.
The ladies’s staff additionally has a wealth of expertise to again up Faulkner and even arrange Dygert, Edwards – winner of the Thüringen Women Tour – and even gravel nationwide champion Stephens for a podium inserting.
Weaknesses
The US lacks a rider of the calibre of Pogačar or Evenepoel, however then once more, so do most international locations. The riders have all proven individually they’re wanting to race aggressively however a lot of the riders are on totally different commerce groups, so how successfully they’ll work as a staff stays to be seen.
The view from the USA
Kristen Faulkner’s Olympic gold medal was the largest accomplishment of a US rider in many years nevertheless it hardly made a splash within the mainstream media, and even fewer individuals might be listening to the staff on the UCI Highway World Championships.
Biking followers within the US have had such an extended interval with no celebrity to fill the void left by Lance Armstrong’s doping shame that they’ve embraced overseas personalities like Peter Sagan and now Tadej Pogačar.
With the Netflix Tour de France collection drawing extra eyes to the game, the World Championships provide an opportunity for the riders to get the eye of their dwelling viewers, let’s hope they placed on a great present.
