TWENTY16 Ridebiker athlete Kristin Armstrong has been named by USA Cycling selection committee as one of the two time trialists to represent Team USA at Rio Olympics in August. Â Armstrong who won a gold medal in Beijing and a gold medal in London will be focused on a hat-trick. If Armstrong succeeds in a third gold medal, she will be the only female American Summer Olympic athlete to have won 3 gold medals in the same discipline. Bonnie Blair accomplished this in the Winter Olympics winning 3 golds in speed skating 500m between 1988 – 1994.
“I am honored to be representing Team USA at my fourth Olympic Games,” commented Armstrong. “I feel prepared and am really looking forward to the challenging time trial course that Rio has on tap. We have a very strong road team and feel confident that Team USA can put our stamp on this event. Thank you to all of my TWENTY16 Ridebiker sponsors and teammates and to my Boise, Idaho supporters, this is really a team effort and I will proudly represent.”
Armstrong will be joined by Evelyn Stevens who will also race the time trial and road race. Â Megan Guarnier was an automatic for the Rio road team after her stellar performance at Richmond World Championships and Mara Abbott, arguably the best climber in the world was also selected for the road race, look for Abbott to be setting the pace on the very hilly Rio road course.
“I have enjoyed working with Kristin the past couple years. I first met Kristin when she first came to bike racing and have been able to watch her whole career. It’s been a learning process going from previous competitor to a partner in her preparation process,” said TWENTY16 director Mari Holden, ” Her longevity in the sport is inspiring and it has been an honor to work with her in preparing for Rio. I couldn’t be happier for her in this selection. It is well deserved and I am confident that she will do another amazing job representing the USA.”
TWENTY16 teammate and teen sensation Chloe Dygert earned an automatic spot on the Rio Olympic team, this was announced March 18th after a UCI Track World Championship win. Chloe will race the team pursuit. “I am so excited that Kristin has been named to the Olympic team!” Said Dygert, “She has worked so hard to get where she is today and I’m honored to to have her as a teammate and to have been a part of her journey to the games these past two years.”
In preparation for their Olympic campaign both Armstrong and Dygert raced the UCI Women’s World Tour, Amgen Tour of California. Armstrong took 2nd GC, just 17 seconds behind Megan Guarnier and Dygert won the best young rider jersey and a 6th place GC with the TWENTY16 Ridebiker team winning the team time trial and team general classification.
“I am so proud to have these two women representing Team USA at the Rio Olympics, our program accomplished medals in London 2012 and I feel very confident we can do the same in Rio with two incredible athletes,” commented TWENTY16 General Manager Nicola Cranmer. ” The Olympics as in the name of the team TWENTY12 and TWENTY16 is what drives our program’s long term goals and we will move forward after this year with a clear vision for Tokyo TWENTY20.”
Dygert will continue her training with USA National Team at the Olympic training centers in Chula Vista, California and Colorado Springs, Colorado, while Armstrong will race with her trade team at the Boise Twilight in Idaho and UCI stage race Cascade Classic in Bend Oregon as preparation for their Olympic races.
USA Cycling announced all BMX, mountain bike and road athletes to compete for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Cycling Team on Thursday, filling out the remainder of the U.S. Olympic lineup for the sport.
The USA Cycling Selection Committee named two BMX, three mountain bike and five road spots as discretionary picks.
2016 U.S. Olympic Cycling Team:
BMX
- Brooke Crain (Visalia, Calif./Haro Bikes-Dans Comp)
- Connor Fields (Henderson, Nev./Chase BMX-Monster Energy)
- Nic Long (Lakeside, Calif./Haro Bikes-Dans Comp)*
- Alise Post (Chula Vista, Calif./Redline USA)*
- Corben Sharrah (Tucson, Ariz./Daylight Cycle Co.)*
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Mountain Bike
- Lea Davison (Jericho, Vt./Specialized Factory Racing)
- Howard Grotts (Durango, Colo./Specialized Factory Racing)
- Chloe Woodruff (Prescott, Ariz./Stan’s NoTubes-Pivot)
Road
- Mara Abbott (Boulder, Colo./Wiggle-High5): Women’s Road Race
- Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho/TWENTY16 p/b SHO-AIR): Women’s Road Race, Women’s Individual Time Trial
- Brent Bookwalter (Asheville, N.C./BMC Racing Team): Men’s Road Race, Men’s Individual Time Trial
- Megan Guarnier (Queensbury, N.Y./Boels Dolmans Cycling Team): Women’s Road Race*
- Taylor Phinney (Boulder, Colo./BMC Racing Team): Men’s Road Race, Men’s Individual Time Trial
- Evelyn Stevens (San Francisco, Calif./Boels Dolmans Cycling Team): Women’s Road Race, Women’s Individual Time Trial
Track
- Matt Baranoski (Perkasie, Pa./Custom Velo): Men’s Keirin
- Kelly Catlin (Arden Hills, Minn./NorthStar Development): Women’s Team Pursuit
- Chloe Dygert (Brownsburg, Ind./TWENTY16 p/b SHO-AIR): Women’s Team Pursuit
- Sarah Hammer (Colorado Springs, Colo.): Women’s Omnium*, Women’s Team Pursuit
- Bobby Lea (Mertztown, Pa./Custom Velo): Men’s Omnium
- Jennifer Valente (San Diego, Calif./TWENTY16 p/b SHO-AIR): Women’s Team Pursui
- Ruth Winder (Lafayette, Calif./UnitedHealthcare): Women’s Team Pursuit
*automatic nomination
All nominations to the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team are subject to approval by the United States Olympic Committee
