The USA has announced its 52-strong team to compete at the World Championships in Mont Sainte Anne in September.
The USA will be taking one reigning champion with them in the form of Kate Courtney, who has risen to fill the Rainbow Stripes admirably this year and has led the elite women's XC series for most of the year. Thre are also two silver medallists from Lenzerheide in the squad in the form of Anna Newkirk in the Junior Women's DH and Christopher Belvins in the Under 23 XC team. Here's the full line up:
DownhillJunior WomenAnna Newkirk* (Riehen, Switzerland; Team Project)
Jordan Scott* (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Autumn Parham (Edmunds, Wash.)
Junior MenMatthew Sterling* (San Jose, Calif.)
Joey Foresta (South Jordan, Utah)
Cole Suetos (Temcula, Calif.)
Dante Silva (Chula Vista, Calif)
Zach Gareis (Mars, Penn.)
Austin Dooley (Yucaipa, Calif.)
Elite WomenJill Kintner* (Seattle, Wash.)
Caroline Washam (Mooresville, N.C.)
Samantha Soriano (Littleton, Colo.)
Abigail Hogie (Beckley, W. Va.)
Mazie Hayden (Pittsfield, Vt.)
Elite MenCharlie Harrison* (Trabuco Canyon, Calif.; Trek Factory Racing)
Aaron Gwin* (Murietta, Calif.; Intense Factory Racing)
Luca Shaw* (Hendersonville, N.C.; Santa Cruz Syndicate)
Dakotah Norton* (Rotten Oaks, Tenn.; Unior Devinci Factory Racing)
Neko Mulally* (Pisgah Forest, N.C.; Intense Factory Racing)
Bruce Klein (Altadena, Calif.; Commencal/ 100% Racing Team)
Nikolas Nesteroff (San Diego, Calif.; KHS Factory Racing)
Cross CountryJunior WomenMadeline Robbins* (Durango, Colo.; Bear Development Team)
Alexis Bobbitt* (Austin, Tex.; Bear Development Team)
Madigan Munro* (Boulder, Colo.; Boulder Junior Cycling)
Ada Urist (Boulder, Colo.; Boulder Junior Cycling)
Haley Randel (Mill Valley, Calif.; Bear Development Team)
Junior MenRiley Amos* (Durango, Colo.; Bear Development Team)
Bjorn Riley (Boulder, Colo.; Bear Development Team)
Robbie Day (Evergreen, Colo.; Racer X Cycling/ColoBikeLaw
Nolan Jenkins (Colorado Springs, Colo.; Rouler Devo p/b DNA Cycling)
Brennon Peterson (Sandy, Utah; Rouler Devo p/b DNA Cycling)
U23 WomenHaley Batten* (Park City, Utah; Clif Pro Team)
Kelsey Urban* (Kentfield, Calif.; Rouler Devo p/b DNA Cycling)
Savilia Blunk (Inverness, Calif.; Sho-Air TWENTY-20)
Gwendalyn Gibson (Ramona, Calif.; Norco Bicycles)
U23 MenChristopher Blevins* (Durango, Colo.; Specialized Factory Racing)
Jerry Dufour* (Birmingham, Ala.; Bear Professional Team)
Cole Paton (Cashmere, Wash.; Giant Factory Off-Road Team)
Henry Nadell (Carbondale, Colo.; CZ Racing)
Sandy Floren (Berkley, Calif.; Bear Professional Team)
Elite WomenKate Courtney* (San Francisco, Calif.; SCOTT p/b SRAM)
Chloe Woodruff* (Prescott, Ariz.; Stans NoTubes Pivot p/b Maxxis)
Lea Davison* (Jericho, Vt.; Sho-Air TWENTY20)
Erin Huck* (Boulder, Colo.; CZ Racing p/b SCOTT)
Alexis Skarda (Grand Junction, Colo.; Spintertainment Video)
Hannah Finchamp (Salt Lake City, Utah; Clif Pro Team)
Rose Grant (Columbia Falls, Mont. (Stans NoTubes Pivot p/b Maxxis
Elite MenKeegan Swenson* (Park City Utah; Stans NoTubes Pivot p/b Maxxis)
Russell Finsterwald (Colorado Springs, Colo.; Clif Pro Team)
Alex Wild (Los Gatos, Calif.; Specialized Factory Racing)
Luke Vrouwenvelder (Chapel Hill, N.C)
Stephan Davoust (Durango, Colo.; Giant Factory Off-Road Team)
Automatic qualifiers are noted with an asterisk (*).
If you include BC in with "the rockies" (idk if they are) then you still don't get that many good racers, but a ton of good slopestyle guys.
Still, with Denver, SLC, and other large populations near ski resorts, you would think the mountain culture would produce more DH riders.
Overall, in the US, you think we would produce more top tier DH riders simply by poaching washed-up moto riders (like Norton and Gwin). The talent pool is so incredibly deep in the moto scene here. I guess the real key is a strong national race series, like what the UK and France have.
If a World Cup class trail were to be built in Utah, I would think Brighton would be the best place to do it.
Careful you may start a turf war with a comment like that.
@sunringlerider: Truth. East Coasters seemed to get riled up by facts for some reason.
You're not including juniors or women I presume.