USA names 39 athletes for 2015 Mountain Bike World Championships

USA Cycling announced today the 39 athletes who will represent the United States at the 2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships which are slated for Aug. 31 – Sept. 6, 2015 in Vallnord, Andorra.

Athletes will race for the red, white and blue in the elite, U23, and junior cross-country races and in the elite and junior downhill contests. Seventeen of the 39 athletes earned automatic nominations to the team. Read more about how athletes earn their nominations in the USA Cycling selection criteria.

The U.S. roster is as follows:

Elite Men Cross-country

• Stephen Ettinger (Bozeman, Mont./Team Sho-Air/Cannondale)
• Russell Finsterwald (Colorado Springs, Colo./SRAM-Troy Lee Designs Race Team)
• Spencer Paxson (Bellingham, Wash./Kona Bicycles Factory Team)
• Alex Grant (Salt Lake City, Utah/Riderbiker/Cannondale)

Elite Women Cross-country

• Lea Davison (Jericho, Vt./Specialized Factory Racing)
• Georgia Gould (Fort Collins, Colo./Luna Pro Team)
• Chloe Woodruff (Prescott, Ariz./Team Stan’s NoTubes/Niner)
• Erin Huck (Boulder, Colo./Scott-3RoxRacing)
• Mary McConneloug (Chilmark, Mass./Team KENDA-M&M Racing)
• Rose Grant (Kalispell, Mt./Stan’s NoTubes)

U23 Men Cross-country

• Howard Grotts (Durango, Colo./Specialized Factory Racing)
• Cypress Gorry (Brevard, NC/Whole Athlete-Specialized Cycling Team)
• Keegan Swenson (Park City, Utah/Sho-Air/Cannondale)
  Sepp Kuss (Durango, Colo./RMCF-Devo)

U23 Women Cross-country

• Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif./Specialized Factory Racing)
• Shayna Powless  (Roseville, Calif./Live CO-Factory)

Junior Men Cross-country

• Christopher Blevins (Durango, Colo./Whole Athlete Specialized Cycling Team)
• Anders Johnson  (Huntsville, Utah/Whole Athlete Specialized Cycling Team)
• Carson Beckett (Benton, Ky./Whole Athlete Specialized Cycling Team)
• Eli Kranefuss (Mill Valley, Calif./Bear Development Team)
  Jerry Dufour (Birmingham, Ala./Team Mugshots)

Junior Women Cross-country

• Haley Batten (Park City, Utah/Whole Athlete Specialized Cycling Team)
• Rachel Anders (Sandy, Utah/Summit-Competitive Cyclist)
• Kelsey Urban (Kentfield, Calif./Whole Athlete Specialized Cycling Team)
• Ksenia Lepikhina (Boulder, Colo.)

Elite Men Downhill

• Aaron Gwin (Wildomar, Calif./Specialized Racing)
• Luca Shaw (Hendersonville, NC/SRAM/Troy Lee Designs)
• Kiran MacKinnon (Santa Cruz, Calif.)
• Neko Mulally (Pisgah Forest, NC/Gstaad-Scott)
• Luca Cometti (San Diego, Calif./Intense Factory Racing)
• Mikey Sylvestry (Truckee, CA/Troy Lee Designs)
• Kevin Aiello (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./KHS Factory Team)

Elite Women Downhill

• Jill Kintner (Bellingham, Wash./Red Bull/Norco Bicycles)

Junior Men Downhill

• Charles Harrison (Leavenworth, Kan.)
• Bruce Klein (Altadena, Calif.)
• Andras Simon (Foothill Ranch, Calif.)
• Warren Kniss (Fremont, Calif.)
• Jacob Jordan (Murietta, Calif.)
• Josh Rogers (Clayton, NC)