Riley Sheehan has raced bikes for 11 years and has never had a direct pathway to the top level of road cycling, nor has he been reserved with his opinions. Some call it drive and dedication, but he calls it just "stubbornness".
"Anything can happen in cycling," he told Cyclingnews from his hotel in Montreal one day before he takes the start for Team USA in the elite men's road race at the Road World Championships.
He was about to prove how true that statement can be, after an unexpected journey of emotions and miles with two trips to Montreal in the span of a week.
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"I did [Grand Prix Cycliste de] Montreal and was completely destroyed after that race. I went super deep and was really proud of the race. All right, time to go to Belgium to race, and I took the 9 p.m. flight right after the race overnight to Paris. On my drive into Belgium after I landed, I got the call for Worlds, which was kind of funny. One hour, pretty much, after I landed in Europe, I got the call up," Sheehan said about the irony of being asked to return.
"It made my week a little more exciting with logistics and having to follow along with the responsibilities with team NSN, making sure I can have a good performance in the World Championships. So, a bit of a crazy, quick work trip in Belgium. I've been a little more quiet about it."
That subtleness was in response to a harsh post he made two days after he finished fourth at Philadelphia Cycling Classic p/b AmeriGas and expressed his dismay on not being selected to the eight-rider roster for US men at Worlds. He deleted his X post and decided to take a different approach to the bad news.
"I was really disappointed, because I really wanted to go," he told Cyclingnews two weeks ago, before getting his surprise call-up. "But I really believed I could have been a really vital asset to the team, and I had a great year."
That great year for the 26-year-old from Boulder, Colorado, once a journeyman with club and Continental teams in the US and France, began with Circuit de Wallonie in May. He then finished second overall at Tour de Wallonie and won the opening stage at Czech Tour before his performance in Philadelphia.
The consolation prize was being named a reserve for a stacked US men's team for Worlds.
"I still trained to my best ability, like I was going to go to the World Championships. So kind of maybe some stubbornness there, but it's always paid off so far."
The squad is comprised of WorldTour riders, including USPro road champion Quinn Simmons and former USPro time trial champion Brandon McNulty, both who finished top five at Grand Prix Montreal.
Neilson Powless was on the roster and had been racing in Italy in September, not the Canadian WorldTour one-day races. He struggled at GP Industria & Artigianato and Giro della Toscana, then didn't finish Coppa Sabatini. He pulled out of World Roads due to sickness, according to USA Cycling, and Sheehan got his call.
"The first thing I did was say 'yes, put me in', before I even asked permission [from NSN]. But you know, the NSN management, everyone, they all knew I was first reserve. I quickly made some phone calls with the directors and my performance team, and within the next two hours, we kind of had logistics figured out.
"OK, I do two races in Belgium, and six days in Belgium. Then come right back to Canada and hang out in Canada for the week. So a bit of a crazy quick work trip in Belgium. It was a quick turnaround. I landed on Sunday [September 20]."
He had his most challenging and rewarding year in 2023 when he moved back to the US from two years with a small team in France, and signed for a small team in Denver to race criteriums. He went from racing the Miami Beach Invitational with this start-up to winning Paris-Tours with Israel-Premier Tech.
"I'm sitting around the lunch table with all the other guys today, and you know we have Quinn Simmons, going straight from junior world champion to the WorldTour, and Brandon McNulty, a junior world champion. These guys had quite a direct pathway into the WorldTour.
"I've had a lot of ups and downs, and not a direct pathway, especially from being Denver Disruptors to WorldTour was crazy in itself. But I've always wanted to prove to myself and everyone what I am capable of. I mean that was a big motivation for me to be on the World's team.
"I'm just so happy to be a part of the team and do what I can to help us try and win."
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