Defending Continental champion Mary McConneloug (Kenda-Seven Cycles) will lead a team of fifteen riders at the upcoming Continental Championships in Neuquen, Argentina, on March 6-12. The Continental Championships will play a key role in determining how many start positions the United States will receive at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing since it offers significant international ranking points.
Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher), Adam Craig (Giant), Jeremiah Bishop (Trek-Volkswagen), and Todd Wells (GT-Hyundai) earned automatic qualifying spots by virtue of their world rankings in 11th, 17th, 22nd, and 55th respectively, as of the end of 2006. Michael Broderick (Kenda-Seven Cycles), who has committed to racing a full World Cup schedule for 2007, joins the ranks as a discretionary selection.
On the women's side, Mary McConneloug will line up with three other automatic selections: Heather Irmiger (Subaru-Gary Fisher), Willow Koerber (Subaru-Gary Fisher), and Shonny Vanlandingham (Luna), who were ranked 24th, 26th, and 31st in the world at the end of 2006. Reigning national champion Georgia Gould (Idaho/Luna) joins the team as a discretionary pick.
Newly signed Subaru-Gary Fisher rider Sam Schultz was the only U23 rider to qualify automatically for the team; however Sam Jurekovic (USA Cycling Development Team) and Colin Cares (USA Cycling Development Team) round out the list of young riders on the team. Jurekovic was the U23 silver medalist at the national championships last year, and he also finished the year as second American in the U23 world rankings. Cares was selected to the team based on his third-place ranking in the US in 2006.
Collegiate national champion Chloe Foresman (Luna) heads up the U23 women's team consisting also of Melanie Meyers (Kenda-X-Fusion-Titus). Meyers was the bronze medalist in the U23 National Championship race last year and the second-ranked American rider in the world rankings.
Elite Men Cross Country
Jeremy Horgan-Kobleski (Boulder, Colo.)
Adam Craig (Bend, Ore.)
Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisonburg, Va.)
Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.)
Michael Broderick (Chilmark, Mass.)
Elite Women Cross Country
Mary McConneloug (Chilmark, Mass.)
Heather Irmiger (Boulder, Colo.)
Willow Koerber (Horseshoe, N.C.)
Shonny Vanlandingham (Durango, Colo.)
Georgia Gould (Ketchum, Idaho)
U23 Men Cross Country
Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont.)
Sam Jurekovic (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Colin Cares (Boulder, Colo.)
U23 Women Cross Country
Chloe Foresman (Boulder, Colo.)
Melanie Myers (Flagstaff, Ariz.)
