AMERICANS WIN SIX GOLD MEDALS IN MIXED TEAM RELAY AT THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS—UPDATED REPORT

The United States won the Mixed Team Relay at the Mountain Bike World Championships in Andorra today. It was the first time that the U.S. has ever won the event. All six riders on the U.S. got gold medals for their efforts.

Here’s the picture that America’s Haley Batten (seen in the bottom right corner of the image) shared on her Instagram page after the win:

Here’s the roster of riders who competed on the winning U.S. team:

Here are the final results:

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We checked the results to see if Nino Schurter and Victor Koretzky were racing for Switzerland and France, but they didn’t compete in the race today. Neither did America’s Riley Amos. We suspect that those riders wanted to make sure that they’d be in top shape when the gold medals are on the line in the  Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) races this weekend. If that idea crossed the minds of Haley Batten and Christopher Blevins, they didn’t let it stop them. We suspect they wanted to increase their chances of going home with gold medals by taking part in the Mixed Team Relay in the World Championships. Both of them played key parts in the U.S. team’s efforts. The U.S. was in second place in the race when Christopher Blevins started his effort as the last rider on the American team. Blevins  overtook the leader and went on to score the win.

Here’s what USA Cycling reported about the Mixed Team Relay event and the Junior Men’s and Women’s Downhill qualifying rounds, which were both held today (Wednesday, August 28) at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Andorra:

 

Team USA Wins First-Ever World Title in Team Relay at 2024 Mountain Bike World Championships

 

Johnson, Konecny, Batten, Lopez de San Roman, Munro, and Blevins win first gold medal for USA Cycling in the Mixed Team Relay.

PAL ARINSAL, Andorra – August 28, 2024 – The 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships kicked off today in Andorra with the Cross-Country Team Relay and Junior Downhill Qualifying. Team USA won its first-ever gold medal in the Team Relay since the event’s inception in 1999.

Cross-Country Mixed Team Relay

The Team Relay is one of the most exhilarating events bringing together athletes of all age groups from around the world.  Each country selects their top Elite, U23, and Junior men and women to compete, with each athlete completing one lap as fast as possible.

The team of Brayden Johnson (Littleton, Colo.; Santa Cruz Rock Shox), Nicholas Konecny (Breckenridge, Colo.; Bear National Team), Haley Batten (Park City, Utah; Specialized Factory Racing), Vida Lopez de San Roman (Sebastopol, Calif.; Bear National Team), Madigan Munro (Boulder, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing) , and Christopher Blevins (Durango, Colo.; Specialized Factory Racing) competed for the United States.

France was fast from the start of the race and battled back and forth with Italy until Team USA started closing in on the leaders. Team USA stayed within the top three for the remainder of the race with the win still in sight. It all came down to the last lap where Blevins laid down one of the fastest laps of the day to close in on France. He crossed the finish line  three seconds in front of France to win gold.

Team USA first reached the podium in the team relay event at Fort William in 2007. Over a decade later, a new generation of superstars emerged, securing podium finishes again in 2019, 2021, and 2022. This year, USA Cycling claimed its first-ever victory, ending a decade-long dominance by the French and Swiss teams.

Results:

1. United States of America 1:19:38
2. France +0.03
3. Italy +1:31

Junior Downhill Qualifying

The day started with qualification for the men’s and women’s junior downhill categories. The United States . and France were the top contenders with the Americans qualifying first, third, and sixth. Asa Vermette (Durango, Colo.; Frameworks Racing) took the top spot, finishing only 0.76 seconds in front of France’s Max Alran. The two have battled all season and will face off tomorrow for the rainbow stripes. Bode Burke (Rhododendron, Ore.; Outlaw Bike Team) put down a strong run which was fast enough for third. Julia Lofqvist Traum (Issaquah, Wash.) was the top finisher in the Junior Women’s Qualifier taking fifth place.

Junior Men’s Results:

1. Asa Vermette (Durango, Colo.; Frameworks Racing)
2. Max Alran (FRA)
3. Bode Burke (Rhododendron, Ore.; Outlaw Bike Team)
4. Gavin Tomlinson (Burbank, Calif.; Gravity Collective)
5. Ryder Lawrence (Menifee, Calif.; Intense Factory Racing)
6. Lucas DeDora (Huntington Station, N.Y.; Transition Factory Racing)

Junior Women’s Results:

1. Erice Van Leuven (NZL)
2. Ella Svegby (SWE)
3. Sacha Earnest (NZL)
4. Julia Lofqvist Traum (Issaquah, Wash.)
5. Kale Cushman(Old Town, Maine)

DNS. Teagan Heap (Boulder City, Nev.; Pivot Cycles)

DNS. Matilda Melton (Bellingham, Wash.; Transition Factory Racing)

Up Next

Tomorrow a new World Champion will be crowned in the Junior Men’s and Women’s Downhill Finals, while the Elite racers will do their qualification runs. For the full event schedule and how to watch, click here.

Here’s the link to the UCI site for additional information on the Mixed Team Relay race and the other races taking place over the next few days:

https://www.uci.org/race-hub/2024-uci-mountain-bike-world-championships-xco-xcc-xcr-e-mtb-dhi/2zgmBmOg9QwsdCfiiVRNWM