Chloé Dygert will debut the stars and stripes jersey while racing for Canyon-SRAM in her first Giro d'Italia Donne held from June 30 to July 9.
Dygert won double national titles in the time trial and the road race at the USA Cycling Road Championships last weekend and is a favourite to win the opening time trial and take the event's first maglia rosa on Friday in Chianciano.
"I'm excited to race my first Giro! I feel blessed to have won both national titles, and I'm looking forward to wearing the new stars and stripe kit this week in Italy," Dygert said.
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"My main focus is on preparing as best I can for the world championships in August, and the Giro is going to help me do that. We have a strong team here, with a mix of strengths, and we aim to win stages and go for the GC."
Dygert, a former time trial world champion and seven-time world champion on the track, took a 14-month break from road racing due to a variety of health issues, including continued treatment for a leg injury sustained in a serious crash at the 2020 Worlds in Imola.
She took time off to recover from the Epstein-Barr virus, and she had heart surgery to treat a longstanding tachycardia issue last year.
Dygert made her return to road racing at La Vuelta Femenina in May, where she stood on the podium in the first three stages but pulled out of the race on stage 6 ahead of the mountains to allow for more recovery time.
At the Vuelta a Burgos, Dygert finished on the podium in the opening two stages and was fourth overall in the general classification. She went on to win stage 2 at RideLondon Classique, marking her first victory on the Women's WorldTour. However, at that race, she told the press that she would struggle with her leg injury for the rest of her life.
At the Giro d'Italia Donne, Dygert will be a favourite for the opening time trial, 4.4km in Chianciano and take the first leader's jersey. Two US riders have won the overall title at the Giro d'Italia Donne; Mara Abbott won overall titles in 2010 and 2013, and Megan Guarnier won the overall title in 2016.
Dygert will join a seven-rider Canyon-SRAM roster at the Giro d'Italia Donne that includes Neve Bradbury, who last year finished tenth on the general classification, Soraya Paladin, Pauliena Rooijakkers and Sarah Roy, and Antonia Niedermaier, who makes her Giro debut.
Road captain Tiffany Cromwell, who is a three-time stage winner in 2012, 2016 and 2019, will lead the team at the nine-day race. "I'm looking forward to my 14th Giro. It wasn't on my calendar last year, which was one of the first times in my career I haven't raced in Italy in July. Racing in Sardinia for the last two stages will be new territory for me, and I'm excited to see what it's like," Cromwell said.
"As a team, we're looking forward to the different opportunities each stage brings and taking chances when they are there. We have a strong team for all types of terrain, and I think we can challenge on every stage for victories and for the overall GC."
