This week, 13 members of the USA Cycling National Team are competing in America’s premier cycling stage race, the Amgen Tour of California. On Thursday, the Amgen Tour of California Women's Race empowered with SRAM gets underway, and eight National Team riders will race over three days, from May 17-19. Five riders from the men’s National Team are also racing and began the seven-stage, 645-mile journey in Long Beach on Sunday, finishing in Sacramento this Saturday, May 19.
“USA Cycling is proud to join the Amgen Tour of California, one of the most important bikes races in America, and to support all American riders. We’re also thrilled to field a team and provide an opportunity for our National Team athletes to compete at this event,” said CEO Derek Bouchard-Hall.
The women’s lineup includes National Team members riding for the USA Cycling Team and respective professional trade teams. Three-time U.S. national champion and 2016 Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race winner Megan Guarnier (San Mateo, Calif.), fourteen time Cyclocross National Champion Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo.), and former USA Cycling development team rider Skyler Schneider (West Allis, Wis.), will race for Team USA supported by Christina Birch (Los Angeles), Samantha Schneider (West Allis, Wis.), and Jennifer Wheeler (Seattle).
Among the riders racing for trade teams are five-time track world champion Chloé Dygert-Owen (Port Orchard, Wash.), with TWENTY20 Pro Cycling p/b Sho-Air (USA), and Coryn Rivera (Tustin, Calif.), who returns with Team Sunweb (NED) after sprinting to a Stage 3 victory last year. Rivera also won the race’s criterium in 2010.
Among the men’s National Team riders racing for their respective pro teams is California native Neilson Powless (Roseville, Calif.), with Team LottoNL-Jumbo (NED), who won the race’s Best Young Rider classification in 2016 and finished ninth overall that year. Tejay van Garderen (Aspen, Colo.), with the BMC Racing Team (USA), also returns to the Amgen Tour of California for the first time since winning the overall race in 2013. After three stages, van Garderen currently ranks eighth overall in the general classification standings.
Both the men’s and women’s races are part of the UCI WorldTour. Visit USACycling.org for more information on the National Team, and visit amgentourofcalifornia.com for details on how to follow the race.
Follow @USACyclingLIVE on Twitter and @USACycling on Instagram and Facebook for galleries and behind the scenes footage of the USA Cycling Team during the Women's Race.
USA Cycling National Team Memebers at the 2018 Amgen Tour of California:
MEN
Ian Garrison (Decatur, Ga.) – Hagens Berman Axeon Cycling Team (USA)
Brandon McNulty (Phoenix, Ariz.) – Rally Cycling (USA)
Neilson Powless (Roseville, Calif.) – Team LottoNL-Jumbo (NED)
Joey Rosskopf (Decatur, Ga.) – BMC Racing Team (USA)
Tejay van Garderen (Aspen, Colo.) – BMC Racing Team (USA)
WOMEN
Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo.) – USA Cycling Team
Chloé Dygert-Owen (Port Orchard, Wash.) – TWENTY20 Pro Cycling p/b Sho-Air (USA)
Megan Guarnier (San Mateo, Calif.) – USA Cycling Team
Coryn Rivera (Tustin, Calif.) – Team Sunweb (NED)
Skyler Schneider (West Allis, Wis.) – USA Cycling Team
Jennifer Valente (San Diego, Calif.) – TWENTY20 Pro Cycling p/b Sho-Air (USA)
Emma White (Delanson, N.Y.) – Rally Cycling (USA)
Tayler Wiles (Fairfax, Calif.) – Trek–Drops (GBR)
