Olympic triathlete Taylor Knibb wins US cycling time trial to earn spot in Paris in second sport

Olympic triathlete Taylor Knibb won the women’s time trial at the US Road Cycling Championships, earning her spot on Team USA and giving her the opportunity to compete in two different sports at the Paris Games

Olympic triathlete Taylor Knibb won the women’s time trial at the U.S. road cycling championships on Wednesday, securing her spot on the U.S. team and giving her the chance to compete in two different sports at the Paris Games.

Knibb covered the flat round-trip course around Charleston, West Virginia, in 45 minutes and 54 seconds, beating pre-race favorite Kristen Faulkner by 11 seconds. Three-time Olympic champion Amber Neben was 49 seconds behind in third place.

Knibb will compete in the time trial and road race in Paris together with Chloe Dygert, who will be the big favorite to win the gold medal in the time trial. Dygert did not compete in the national competitions on Wednesday because she had already qualified for the Paris Olympics after winning the time trial at last year’s world championships.

Knibb had also previously qualified for Paris, albeit in triathlon, where the 26-year-old from Washington, D.C., finished fifth in a test event held on the Olympic course on the historic Pont Alexandre III bridge last August.

Three years ago, Knibb became the youngest woman on the U.S. triathlon team at the Summer Olympics. She finished 16th at the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics, but helped the Americans win the silver medal in the relay for mixed teams.

The two-time IRONMAN 70.3 world champion covered the first half of the 20.9-mile course on Wednesday in 20:59, putting Knibb in a tie with Faulkner, who has already won Omloop van het Hageland and a stage in the Women’s La Vuelta this year.

Knibb pulled away in the second half of the course to secure his spot on the American road cycling team in Paris.

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