USA Cycling announces road race team for Paris that will attempt to end 40-year Olympic medal drought

Magnus Sheffield and Matteo Jorgenson will join Brandon McNulty on the U.S. cycling team for the Paris Olympics, giving the American contingent perhaps its best chance in four decades to medal in a road race.

McNulty had already qualified for the team by winning the national time trial championship earlier this year. The big question was who would join him. USA Cycling had to weigh which of its potential riders would be on the starting line for the Tour de France on June 29, then choose the team best suited for the Olympic journey that begins and ends in Paris.

The announcement came Friday, five weeks before the opening ceremony.

“Going to the Olympics was one of my biggest goals growing up,” Sheffield said. “I am incredibly proud to represent the United States in Paris and all the people who have helped me along the way. I don’t think I’ll completely get there until I get there.

Chloe Dygert and Taylor Knibb had already secured the two women’s spots on the team. Dygert won the world time trial title to earn an automatic nomination, while Knibb was a surprising winner in the U.S. time trial championship to earn her spot.

Both will be busy in Paris. In addition to the road race and time trial, where Dygert will be heavily favored to win gold, she will race at the velodrome later in the Olympics as part of the U.S. pursuit team. Knibb had already qualified for the Paris Games in triathlon before making the cycling team; she finished 16th in this event at the Tokyo Games.

“I am very honored, grateful and excited to have the opportunity to represent Team USA with USA Cycling,” said Knibb. “This would not have been possible without the support of my amazing family, friends, coaches, manager, sponsors and USA Triathlon.

“Cycling has a very steep learning curve,” she added, “and I am both excited and nervous for what lies ahead.”

The United States has struggled in the road race since the 1984 Los Angeles Games, when Alexi Grewal won the men’s race and Connie Carpenter and Rebecca Twig went 1-2 in the women’s race. Meanwhile, European countries dominated the medal table, although Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz used a stunning attack to win a surprising gold medal in Tokyo.

But the UCI, which governs international cycling, has changed its quota system for the Olympics in a bid to achieve gender parity in all events. That means a much smaller number of runners in the men’s race — 90 instead of the 130 starting in Tokyo — and it increases the chance for a team like the United States to make a statement at the finish.

McNulty almost did it in Tokyo anyway. He attacked with Carapaz with about 25 kilometers remaining in the race, but he couldn’t stay with him. Carapaz pulled away from him with about three miles to go and McNulty finished sixth.

“This best result – sixth in the road race – motivates me even more,” McNulty said. “The race was super aggressive. I relive it all the time. At home in Arizona and Girona (Italy), I already train while focusing 100% on Paris.

McNulty had a good season. He was the overall winner of a race in Spain, won time trial stages of the UAE Tour and the Tour de Romandie and finished third overall in the prestigious Paris-Nice race won by Jorgenson .

Sheffield, 22, is the least experienced rider on the American team but he already has some big results under his belt. Two years ago, he won the Brabantse Pijl, one of the biggest one-day races in Flanders – a first for an American in more than a decade.

Jorgenson made his name during last year’s Tour de France, where he participated in several breakaways and nearly won at the top of Puy de Dôme. The 24-year-old was even better this year, winning Dwars door Vlaanderen and finishing second at the Critérium du Dauphine against a field that included some of the biggest names in the sport.

“The Olympics were always part of my childhood,” he said. “I remember spending entire summers watching sports I had never heard of and admiring the athletes. Of course, this had a big effect on me, and is one of the reasons why I decided to pursue a career as a professional athlete. Being able to race in Paris, especially after the best year of my career, is a dream come true.