U.S. announces four-rider Olympic mountain bike team
Deep roster whittled down for Paris
Photo by:
Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool
The U.S. announced which four riders are heading to Paris for the Olympic mountain bike event this summer. The roster, two men and two women, is whittled down from a deep pool of U.S. talent at the top of the World Cup ranking right now.
U.S.A. Cycling (USAC) announced it’s Olympic team on Tuesday. Canada will follow with its own announcement of which two riders are headed to Paris soon. The U.S.A. gets to send twice as many riders as  Canada as a result of the UCI’s Olympic criteria. Currently Isabella Holmgren and Gunnar Holmgren lead that selection race.
U.S. Women’s mountain bike team
On the women’s side, the U.S. will be represented by Haley Batten, who already has a World Cup win and three podiums in three XCO races this year, and Savilia Blunk, current national champion and second at the Mairipora World Cup. With four U.S. women in the top 10 at that event, the race for a spot on the Olympic team was tight.
“My Olympic pursuit has been an amazing journey. Through injury, personal growth, and relentless hard work, I am proud to earn my spot to represent Team USA in Paris,” Batten said of her second Olympic selection. “Throughout my youth, I have dreamed of becoming an Olympic athlete and to earn a medal for the USA. I am honored to have this opportunity and I am fully focused on preparing at my best.”
Savilia Blunk is headed to her first Olympic Games in 2024 and is, as you might guess, thrilled.
“Competing at the Olympics is something I’ve dreamed about ever since my first race in the NorCal NICA league. When I was 15, this dream felt almost inconceivable. I knew it would take a lot of hard work, but what was even harder to find in the process was team support, resources, and funding to get myself to the biggest stage. It was never a clear path, but I was relentlessly committed and never gave up. Now looking back, I realize this WAS the path all along – never giving up on my dreams. I’m so proud to have reached this moment and am super excited to represent the USA in Paris!”
U.S. Men’s mountain bike team
On the men’s side, Christopher Blevins and under-23 rider Riley Amos will represent the stars and stripes. Blevins won the men’s XCO at Mairipora and is also was also recently the first elite men’s World Cup winner in over two decades. Amos is on a winning spree in the under-23 World Cup events. He was joined on several of those podiums by fellow U.S. racer Bjorn Riley, who misses out on selection.
Blevins, like Batten, is also returning for his second Olympics.
“The magnitude of the Olympics is one of the most special things to experience as an athlete. Being a part of Team USA is a celebration that extends beyond yourself, and there’s a whole team giving their best in the sport we love,” says Blevins. “I was proud to make it to Tokyo in 2021, and maybe even more so to make my second Olympic games, with the opportunity to give it everything for a medal on July 29th in Paris. The sport of Mountain Biking is growing at an exciting rate in the States, and I know this Games will be another step in that direction.”
Amos is headed to his first Olympic Games. While the young rider has a string of wins, his focus in Paris will be as much on learning everything he can for when the Games return to L.A. in 2028 as it will be racing for position.
“I really don’t think it has sunk in yet that I will be representing my country in Paris this summer. I think when I get to feel that atmosphere and really experience it all for the first time it’s all going to sink in. I am not really putting much pressure on the performance, but instead taking in this incredible opportunity and moment at the biggest mountain bike race in the world to celebrate how far we have come in the last few years and to learn all I can for the 2028 games. I’m proud to continue the legacy of Mountain Bike Olympians from Durango, Colorado, as I would not be who I am without my special little community at home.”
The Olympic mountain bike events run from July 28-29. The women’s XCO will take place on Sunday, July 28, and the men’s event runs the following day on Monday, July 29. Both starting at 8:00 am ET.
