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PARIS (Velo) — Chloé Dygert, Matteo Jorgenson, and Jennifer Valente — those are among the Americans who could bring home medals in cycling as the Paris Olympic Games opened Saturday.
USA Cycling officials told Velo that the national team is expecting “three to four” Olympic medals, and perhaps a few more, if things tilt their way across racing in road cycling, mountain bike, BMX, and track.
“We’re really confident in three to four medals,” USA Cycling’s Jim Miller told Velo. “We also have six ‘conversion’ medals, so if you get half of that, then you’re going to land around five, six, seven.”
Speaking to Velo just hours before Olympic competition kicked off with elite time trials on Saturday, Miller said USA Cycling is brimming with confidence coming into Paris.
The last Olympic cycle in Tokyo 2020 saw the national team decimated by COVID-19, both in terms of funding and the team’s approach to the Games.
This time, the federation and the top athletes are all firing at full cylinders, and the expectations are sky high coming into Paris 2024.
Things are expected to start off with a bang, with two-time world time trial champion Dygert targeting the podium in the time trial.
Behind her is triathlete and recently crowned U.S. champion Taylor Knibb, whom Miller said will be an unknown factor capable of surprising.
For Magnus Sheffield and Brandon McNulty, Miller is expecting them to finish in the top-10, but just off podium range, before adding, “on a good day, anything is possible.”
“For the past year, we’ve been doing performance modeling on this time trial, so we’re pretty confident in our numbers and knowing what we think everybody’s capable of,” Miller said. “Chloé keeps coming out on top.”
‘This is a really good team’
Team USA brings a competitive squad for mountain biking.
Some 23 athletes are racing in men’s and women’s events in BMX, road cycling, track, and mountain bike.
Jennifer Valente, Lily Williams, Chloé Dygert, Kristen Faulkner, Olivia Cummins, and Grant Koontz have been named to the Paris 2024 Olympic Track Cycling Team! #PedalingtoParis
Read the official announcement here: https://t.co/TlXqyNMvrX pic.twitter.com/Wopg0bgAPR
— USA Cycling (@usacycling) June 13, 2024
“I think this is really good team,” Miller said. “Across the board, in every discipline and every event, we have we have either a medal contender or a an athlete capable of winning a medal on their day.
“In this Olympics, we have somebody that we think is competitive almost every day.”
More medal chances come Monday in mountain biking and next weekend with elite men’s and women’s road races.
“We have a super good team for mountain biking, and both of them are riding really well. Both are in awesome spirits,” Miller said of the women’s team. “The men’s side is not so easy, but Chris [Blevins], he’s won World Cups, he’s been there. Both have nothing to lose.”
BMX will see the Americans in the mix, with track cycling taking over in the final week.
Valente targeting 3 medals
The U.S. women’s team pursuit squad has medaled in every Olympic Games. (Photo: im de Waele/Getty Images)
Expectations are soaring for Dygert and Valente to bring home the medals on the women’s side.
Dygert and Kristen Faulkner, who will race Sunday in the women’s road race, will have to switch gears barely two days later to race women’s team pursuit.
Team USA’s medaled in every Olympic cycle since the discipline debuted in 2012, with silvers in 2012 and 2016, and bronze in 2020 Tokyo.
“We’ve built this program ever since they announced it,” Miller said.
“We’re hoping to get a medal. We just don’t know what color it will be,” Miller said. “Qualifying is really important. Round one’s really important. Finals are really important. It has to be perfect. We just always seem to come up slightly short in the Olympics, one way or another. Even in Tokyo, we were one-10th of a second away from racing for gold.”
Valente returns to the track as defending gold medalist in omnium, and will also race in the team pursuit and Madison, with new partner Lily Williams.
Medaling in all three?
“I think she’s totally capable of that,” Miller said. “Winning back-to-back golds is tough, but she’s capable of that. She’s paired with Lilly Williams in the Madison, and they’ve been they’ve been working together for almost a year on it now.
“I think Lily gives a great dynamic to that team that allows gender sprint for points,” Miller said. “Generally Jen needed somebody that could hold the position and execute the exchange going really fast.”
Velo spoke to Miller just minutes before the start of the time trial races Saturday. The champagne is on ice.
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Publish date : 2024-07-27 02:00:00
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Author : News-Sports
Publish date : 2024-07-28 17:16:25
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