Georgia Simmerling plots return to cycling joining Twenty20 Pro Cycling for 2018
Stephanie Roorda and Jasmin Duehring continue with program which aims at preparing athletes for 2020 Olympics
The Twenty20 Pro Cycling team has announced their roster for the 2018 season. The women’s team allows their athletes to balance national commitments on the track with a strong North American road program. Canadians Stephanie Roorda and Jasmin Duehring return to the roster for another year while Olympian Georgia Simmerling joins the squad after taking a break from cycling to focus on ski cross.
“We have strong woman with their individual goals for world championships and are looking to the 2020 Olympic Games,” said director sportif Mari Holden.
Duehring and Simmerling rode together on the bronze medal winning women’s team pursuit squad at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Duehring had a full road calendar in 2017 during which she finished third overall at the Cascade Cycling Classic. She also earned two wins at London Six Day before taking a silver medal at the Milton track cycling World Cup earlier this month. Duehring, a two-time Olympic medalist, is expected to target a modified UCI track schedule with a focus on mass start events while also taking on a full road program.
Simmerling will join the cycling team after the 2018 winter Olympics in PyeongChang. She will race ski cross before transitioning back to cycling to target the 2020 Olympics. Simmerling is the only Canadia to compete at three different Olympic Games in three different events. She competed at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver in alpine skiing, the 2014 Olympis in Sochi in ski cross, then transitioned to track cycling for the 2016 Olympics. She is currently training in ski cross in preparation for PyeongChang.
Simmerling along with Roorda will be part of a support crew for Cuban sprinter Marlies Mejias.
Our short-term goal is to accomplish two elite world championship jerseys in 2018, with the long-term goal to have seven of our athletes representing their nations in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” said general manager Nicola Cranmer. “We are an experienced program with an emphasis on four-year build-ups, and I believe our roster this year showcases our understanding and expertise in this.”
After joining the team for the 2016 world road championships, 2016 Canadian road champion and 2016 track world championship medalist Annie Foreman-Mackey moves on from Twenty20.
2018 Twenty20 Pro Cycling Roster
Sofia Arreola (Mexico)
Erica Clevenger (U.S.)
Margot Clyne (U.S.)
Allie Dragoo (U.S.)
Chloé Dygert Owen (U.S.)
Jasmin Duehring (Vancouver)
Scotti Lechuga (U.S.)
Marlies Mejias Garcia (Cuba)
Danielle Morshead (U.S.)
Shayna Powless (U.S.)
Steph Roorda (Calgary)
Georgia Simmerling (Vancouver)
Jennifer Valente (U.S.)
Larissa Connors (U.S.) Mountain Bike / Road
Jamie Whitmore (U.S.) Para-Cycling
