Defending women's team pursuit champions without Dygert-Owen
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Team USA pursuit squad qualified second
Ashton Lambie with the US men's Team Pursuit at the UCI Track World Cup in Milton(Image credit: Casey B. Gibson / USA Cycling)
Ashton Lambie with the US men's Team Pursuit at the UCI Track World Cup in Milton(Image credit: Casey B. Gibson / USA Cycling)
USA Cycling have announced their roster for the upcoming UCI Track World Championships in Pruszków, Poland, with the defending world champion women's team pursuit squad moving on without multi-time world champion Chloe-Dygert Owen, who is recovering from injury.
Eight women and seven men make up the USA's team for the World Championships, which begin on February 17 and run through to March 3.
"We have a strong team of riders all heading into the World Championships with a lot of momentum," said Jeff Pierce, USA Cycling's director of elite athletics. "We've seen this team reach new milestones and have many top performances this track season, and we're excited to carry that same energy to Poland and on to next year as we build towards Tokyo 2020."
Olympians Jennifer Valente and Kelly Catlin will be joined in the women's team pursuit squad by Kim Geist; all were part of last year's gold medal-winning effort.
Valente will also compete in the Omnium with a strong chance at a medal after racing to second overall in the UCI World Cup in the event, the points race, and the individual pursuit, where she last year placed third behind winner Dygert-Owen.
"Competing for the USA is always a privilege," Valente said. "The World Championships are one of the biggest arenas that we are able to do that at, and each year it brings something new with the highest level of competition. This year we have a big team with some new faces, which is exciting. We are motivated to execute each performance in the lead up to Tokyo and this event is a big part of that."
The men's team pursuit squad of Ashton Lambie, Gavin Hoover, Eric Young, Colby Lange and Danny Summerhill are heading into the Worlds with confidence after a successful World Cup season in which they raced into the top-eight in the UCI Olympic Ranking. Currently seventh, the team hopes to remain high in the standings and qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
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Lambie will compete in the individual pursuit, while teammates Dan Holloway and Adrian Hegyvary will compete in the mass-start races.
"I'm looking forward to representing Team USA at the upcoming World Championships. It's been a good season for the team, and we're excited to see the hard work pay off," Lambie said.
Other participants include sprinters Madalyn Godby and Mandy Marquardt and endurance racers Christina Birch, Kendall Ryan and Emma White.
USA Cycling for the 2019 UCI Track World Championships:
Women: Christina Birch, Kelly Catlin, Kim Geist, Madalyn Godby, Mandy Marquardt, Kendall Ryan, Jennifer Valente, Emma White
Men: Adrian Hegyvary, Dan Holloway, Gavin Hoover, Ashton Lambie, Colby Lange, Danny Summerhill, Eric Young
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