Colorado Springs, Colo. - USA Cycling announced today the seven riders to compete on the U.S. National Team at the 2019 Amgen Tour of California. This is the first time USA Cycling will be fielding a men’s team since the inaugural Tour of California.
“This will be my first time wearing the Red White and Blue National Team kit and I couldn’t be more excited and proud,” said McCabe, “I came into the sport late in my career but have always worked relentlessly to achieve my goals and this is a big one that I can finally check off. What makes it even better is that the Amgen Tour of California begin on my 30th birthday this year and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than to represent USA Cycling in the biggest race North America has to offer the world.”
“We are looking forward to having a veteran leader like Travis representing our National Team at the Amgen Tour of California,” said Jeff Pierce, Director of Elite Athletics, Road and Track, “His experience racing at the World Tour level will be a huge mentorship opportunity for the younger riders.”
USA Cycling Amgen Tour of California Team:
Alex Hoehn (Lenexa, Kan.; Aevolo)
- 2018 U23 Road Race National Champion
- 2019 Joe Martin Stage Race- 3rd Overall
Keegan Swirbul (Carbondale, Colo.; Floyd’s Pro Cycling)
- 2019 Tour de Langkawi- 2nd place overall
- 2018 Tour of Utah- 7th Place overall
Michael Hernandez (Clermont, Fla.; Aevolo)
- 2018 Colorado Classic- 7th Place, Stage 1
- 2017 Tour of Alberta, 4th Place, Stage 2
Miguel Bryon (Miami, Fla.; Arapahoe/Hincapie)
- 2018 Amgen Tour of California- 5th Place, Stage 7
- 2019 Tour de Normandie- 3rd Place, Stage 2
- 2019 Circuit des Ardennes International- 2nd Place, Stage 4
Sam Boardman (Encinitas, Calif.; Wildlife Generation)
- 2018 US Pro National Championships- 10th Place, ITT
Travis McCabe (Denver, Colo.; Floyd’s Cyling)
- 2018 US Pro Criterium National Champion
- 2018 Colorado Classic- Winner, Stage 4
- 2018 Tour of Utah- Winner, Stage 1 and Stage 3
Tyler Stites (Tuscon, Ariz.; Aevolo)
- 2019 Joe Martin Stage Race- 7th Place Overall
- 2019 Joe Martin Stage Race- 2nd Place, Stage 1
Reserves
Tanner Putt (Park City, Utah; Arapahoe/Hincapie)
Brendan Rhim (Greenville, S.C.; Arapahoe/Hincapie)
Support Staff:
Michael Sayers- Director Sportif
Michael Creed- Director Sportif 2
“This is an opportunity of a lifetime,” said 2018 U23 National Road Race Champion, Hoehn, who currently is racing for Aevolo, “it is an absolute honor to be representing the USA in the only World Tour race in America. These opportunities do not come often so I hope to make the most of it”
“Tour of California has been the one race of the season I wanted to be able to say I competed in before my time in cycling is over,” said Michael Hernandez, who has represented the U.S. National Team in Europe as a Junior and U23, “To have the opportunity come up this year was a dream come true. This race has always captured my interest because of the big names it brings out and how it gives Americans like myself the chance to go up against the best in the world. Being able to not only do this race but compete under the National Team just adds fuel to the fire for me. I’m always filled with pride when putting on the colors of our nation.”
The team will be directed by Michael Sayers and Michael Creed. Sayers is a two-time member of the US World Championship Team (2002, 2003) and raced professionally for more than 14 years. He has been the Sport Director for BMC Racing Team, the USA Elite World Championship Team and the USA Elite Olympic Road Team. Creed is the current director for UCI Continental U23 development team, Aevolo. He was the sports director of Team SmartStop in the 2014 and 2015 seasons before being appointed head coach of USA Paralympics' paracycling program in November 2015.
The 2019 Amgen Tour of California starts on May 12 in Sacramento and finishes May 18 in Pasadena. Throughout the seven day stage race, riders will traverse California on highways, coastlines and mountain roads. This year’s course features over 68,000 feet of elevation gain and an iconic Mt. Baldy summit finish on Stage 6. This year’s National Team presence at the Tour of California was made possible with the additional support of JustBARE Chicken.
Visit USACycling.org for more information on the athletes, events and membership programs, and follow @USACycling across all channels for the latest on Team USA. For more information on the 2019 Tour of California, visit: https://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/
For more information, please contact Kelly Fox at apalermo@usacycling.org or Guillermo Rojas at grojas@usacycling.org.
