Colorado Springs, Colo. (July 19, 2006) —USA Cycling announced today automatic nominations and coaches selection nominees to the U.S. National Team that will represent the United States at the 2006 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and the 2006 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships.
The 2006 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships are scheduled for August 22-27 in Rotorua, New Zealand and will feature Olympic-discipline cross country racing for junior, U23 and elite athletes as well as downhill, 4-cross, trials and team relay events.
In the elite men’s cross country category, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo.) earned an automatic nomination with a fifth-place finish at the fourth round of the UCI World Cup series in Fort William Scotland. Ryan Trebon (Ventura, Calif.) earned the only other elite men’s cross country automatic nomination with a win Saturday at the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships brought to you by X-Fusion.
Automatic nominations went to Mary McConneloug (Chilmark, Mass.) and Georgia Gould (Ketchum, Idaho) in the elite women’s cross country category. Ranked ninth in the world, McConneloug earned her nomination with a top-10 overall ranking in the UCI standings, while Gould’s win at nationals solidified her nomination.
National champions Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont.) and Jenna Zander (North Mankato, Minn.) earned the sole automatic selections in the men’s and women’s U23 cross country categories with their victories in Sonoma last weekend.
Michael Cummings (Snellville, Ga.), and Chris Barton (Ojai, Calif.) garnered automatic nominations in the junior men’s cross country category. Cummings notched his nomination as the current leader of the National Mountain Bike Series standings while Barton secured his spot with a national title.
Two junior women also earned automatic nominations in the cross country category. Danae York (Indio, Calif.) and Rachel Throop (Escondido, Calif.) earned nominations as the National Mountain Bike Series leader and national champion respectively.
In the gravity disciplines, newly crowned national champion Duncan Riffle (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and top-ranked rider in the National Mountain Bike series standings, Justin Havukainen (Castro Valley, Calif.), earned nominations to the elite men’s downhill squad. Tara Llanes (Los Alamitos, Calif.) and Jackie Harmony (Tucson, Ariz.) qualified for the elite women’s downhill team as national champion and series leader.
Daniel Hultgen (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Hank Cadle (Lake Forest, Calif.) grabbed automatic nominations in the junior men’s downhill category as the National Mountain Bike series leader and national champion respectively, while Christina Pinney (Concord, Calif.) earned the sole junior women’s downhill nomination as the national champion.
Reigning 4-cross world champions Brian Lopes (San Clemente, Calif.) and Jill Kintner (Seattle, Wash.) will defend their titles from a year ago. Joining the owners of the rainbow jerseys are Chris Powell (San Diego, Calif.), Rich Houseman (Temecula, Calif.), and Eric Carter (Winchester, Calif.) on the men’s 4-cross squad and Llanes, Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Ariz.) and Jessica Vogt (Boulder, Colo.) on the women’s squad. Powell earned his nomination with a third-place finish at the UCI World Cup event in Brazil earlier this year, while Houseman qualified as the top American in the National Mountain Bike series standings and Carter qualified as the national champion.
Llanes qualified as the bronze medalist at the world championships in 2005, while Buhl was nominated based on her fourth-place effort in the UCI World Cup event in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada this summer. Vogt earned her slot as the highest-ranked American in the National Mountain Bike Series standings.
In addition to those athletes that have met the automatic nomination criteria, several athletes were named to the team based on coaches’ selection.
Adam Craig (Bend, Ore.), Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisonburg, Va.), and Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.) were selected to the elite men’s cross country team.
Shonny Vanlandingham (Durango, Colo.), Willow Koerber (Horseshoe, N.C.), and Heather Irmiger (Boulder, Colo.) complement the automatic nominations to the elite women’s cross country contingent.
USA Cycling U23 National Team members Sam Jurekovic (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Colin Cares (Boulder, Colo.) were selected to the men’s U23 cross country squad, while Chloe Forsman (Boulder, Colo.) rounds out the U23 women’s team.
Further discretionary selections will be announced later this week.
The 2006 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships are scheduled for August 13 in Oisans, France. Fourteen riders have been nominated to the team that will compete in the 100-kilometer ultra-endurance cross country format.
Automatic nominees in the men’s division include Clint Muhlfeld (Whitefish, Mont.) as the top American in the UCI Marathon World Series rankings, Travis Brown (Durango, Colo.) as the current national champion and winner of the Deer Valley National Mountain Bike Series event and Even Plews (Dallas, Ore.) as the number-one ranked rider in the 2006 National Mountain Bike Series marathon standings. Women who received automatic nominations include Josie Beggs (Capitola, Calif.) as the winner in Deer Valley, Melissa Thomas (Boulder, Colo.) as the national champion and Mandy Eakins (Newport Beach, Calif.) as the top-ranked woman in the National Mountain Bike Series standings.
Several discretionary nominations were also made. Chris Eatough (Ellicott City, Md.), Jay Henry (Avon, Colo.), Michael Lee (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Michael Janelle (Avon Colo.) received discretionary nods to the men’s squad, while Kyia Malenkovich (St. Cloud, Minn.), Monique Sawicki (Mililani, Haiwaii), Louise Kobin (San Jose, Calif.), and Kristy Lanier-Mantz (Marlinton, W. Va.) were named to the women’s team.
2006 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships
Rotorua, New Zealand
August 22-27
U.S. Team Automatic Nominations and Coaches’ Selection
Trials - Elite 20"
William Hendrickson (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Peter Hellenbrand (Seattle, Wash.)
2006 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships
August 13
Oisans, France
U.S. Team Automatic and Discretionary Selections
Elite Men’s Marathon
*Clint Muhlfeld (Whitefish, Mont.)
*Travis Brown (Durango, Colo.)
*Evan Plews (Dallas, Ore.)
Chris Eatough (Ellicott City, Md.)
Jay Henry (Avon, Colo.)
Michael Lee (Mission Viejo, Calif.)
Michael Janelle (Avon, Colo.)
Elite Women’s Marathon
*Josie Beggs (Capitola, Calif.)
*Melissa Thomas (Boulder, Colo.)
*Mandy Eakins (Newport Beach, Calif.)
Kyia Malenkovich (St. Cloud, Minn.)
Monique Sawicki (Mililani, Haiwaii)
Louise Kobin (San Jose, Calif.)
Kristy Lanier-Mantz (Marlinton, W. Va.)
*Denotes Automatic Selection
About USA Cycling
Recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Union Cycliste Internationale, USA Cycling promotes American cycling through its 54,000 members and 2,000 annual events. USA Cycling associations include the BMX Association (BMX), National Off-Road Bicycle Association (mountain bike), U.S. Cycling Federation (road/track), the National Collegiate Cycling Association and the U.S. Professional Racing Organization (professional men’s road). For more information visit www.usacycling.org or contact, USA Cycling Director of Marketing and Communications, Andy Lee at 719-866-4867.
This Article Published 2006-07-19 16:14:57
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