Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) (Image credit: Dave McElwaine/trailwatch.net)
USA Cycling selected its first round of nominations for the US National Team headed to the 2008 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Treviso, Italy on January 26-27. Sixteen riders were picked from the elite women's and the elite, U23 and junior men's ranks based on their performance during the past year.
Katie Compton (Spike Shooter), who won silver at the 2007 World Championship, topped the list with her automatic nomination. Compton is currently ranked second in the world behind Dutch woman Daphny van den Brand and earlier this year captured the biggest win of her career with a victory at the third round of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in the Netherlands.
Rachel Lloyd (Proman-Paradigm), Kerry Barnholt (Tokyo Joe's-Van Dessel), Sue Butler (River City Bicycles) and Amy Dombroski (Velo Bella-Kona) earned discretionary nominations.
Top-ranked American in the USGP of Cyclo-cross Georgia Gould (Luna) had also received an automatic nomination, but she declined participation. Gould told Cyclingnews in an interview in early December that she would not participate in the Worlds so she could focus on the upcoming mountain bike season. Gould is one of the favorites for making the US Olympic Mountain Bike Team.
Bjorn Selander earned the only men's U23 automatic nomination by winning his division at the National Championships. He will be joined by the silver medallist in last year's Junior World Championship Danny Summerhill and collegiate national champion Jamie Driscoll (Fiordifrutta). The final two U23 riders will be Chance Noble (California Giant) and Nichloas Weighall (Rad Racing Northwest).
Luke Keough (CL Noonan), Steve Fisher (Rad Racing Northwest), Eric Emsky (Rad Racing Northwest), Gavin Mannion (Hot Tubes) and Zach McDonald (Oh Boy Oberto) earned nominations to the junior men's squad.
The elite men's nominations will be announced on January 14 following the next two rounds of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Belgium and France.
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US National Team for 2008 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Treviso, Italy
Elite Women Katie Compton Georgia Gould* Rachel Lloyd Kerry Barnholt Sue Butler Amy Dombroski
U23 Men Bjorn Selander Jamie Driscoll Daniel Summerhill Chance Noble Nick Weighall
Junior Men Luke Keough Steve Fisher Eric Emsky Gavin Mannion Zach McDonald
