USA Cycling announces road race team for Paris that will try to end 40-year Olympic medal drought

Magnus Sheffield and Matteo Jorgenson will join Brandon McNulty on the U.S. cycling team for the Paris Olympics, giving the American contingent perhaps the best chance in four decades to win a road race medal.

McNulty had already qualified for the team by winning the national time trial championship earlier this year. The big question was who would join him. USA Cycling had to evaluate which of its potential riders would be on the starting line for the Tour de France on June 29 and then choose the team best suited for the Olympic course that begins and ends in Paris.

The announcement was made on Friday, five weeks before the opening ceremony.

“Going to the Olympics was one of my biggest goals growing up,” Sheffield said. “I am extremely proud to represent the USA in Paris, as well as all the people who have helped me along the way. I don’t think it will fully sink in until I’m there.”

Chloe Dygert and Taylor Knibb had already secured the two women’s spots on the team. Dygert won the world time trial title to earn an automatic nomination, while Knibb was a surprise winner of the US time trial championship to earn her spot.

Both will be busy in Paris. Along with the road race and time trial, where Dygert will be the heavy favorite to win gold, she will race in the velodrome later in the Olympics as part of the U.S. pursuit team. Knibb had already qualified for the Paris Games in triathlon before joining the cycling team; she finished 16th in the event at the Tokyo Games.

“I am very honored, grateful and excited for the opportunity to represent Team USA at USA Cycling,” said Knibb. “It wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my incredible family, friends, coaches, manager, sponsors and USA Triathlon.

“Cycling has a very steep learning curve,” she added, “and I’m both excited and nervous about what’s to come.”

The U.S. has struggled in road races since the 1984 Los Angeles Games, when Alexi Grewal won the men’s race and Connie Carpenter and Rebecca Twig did a double in the women’s race. Meanwhile, European countries dominated the medal table, although Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz used a stunning attack to win a surprise gold in Tokyo.

But the UCI, which governs international cycling, has changed its quota system for the Olympic Games in a bid to achieve gender parity across all events. That means a much smaller number of riders in the men’s race – 90 instead of the 130 that started in Tokyo – and that increases the possibility of a team like the USA making a statement at the end.

Either way, McNulty almost did it in Tokyo. He attacked with Carapaz with around 25 kilometers left in the race, but was unable to stay with him. Carapaz pulled away from him with about five kilometers to go and McNulty finished sixth.

“This superior result – sixth in the road race – motivates me even more,” said McNulty. “The race was super aggressive. I relive this all the time. At home, in Arizona and Girona (Italy), I am already training with 100% focus on Paris.”

McNulty had a strong season. He was the overall winner in a race in Spain, won time trial stages on the UAE Tour and Tour de Romandie, and finished third overall in the prestigious Paris-Nice race which Jorgenson won.

Sheffield, 22, is the least experienced rider on the US team, but has already achieved great results. Two years ago he won Brabantse Pijl, one of the premier one-day races in Flanders – the first for an American in more than a decade.

Jorgenson made his name in last year’s Tour de France, where he featured in several breakaways and nearly won at the top of Puy de Dôme. The 24-year-old has been even better this year, winning the Dwars door Vlaanderen and finishing second in the Criterium du Dauphine against a field that included some of the sport’s biggest names.

“The Olympics have always been a part of my childhood,” he said. “I remember spending entire summers watching sports I had never heard of and admiring the athletes. This certainly impacted me a lot and was one of the reasons why I decided to pursue a career as a professional athlete. Racing in Paris, especially after the best year of my career, is a dream come true.”

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