Who they are and their medal possibilities
Cycling has always been a part of the Summer Olympics, going back to the first modern Olympics in 1896. Mountain biking, born in the United States in the 1970s and being relatively new, made its official Olympic debut in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Team USA athletes have won a grand total of 60 Olympic cycling medals, yet the medal count in mountain biking stands at just two bronze medals. The first of those came at the 1996 in Atlanta and the second in 2013 in London. Both were won by women.
With the Paris Games now open, we are watching Team USA’s Olympic mountain bikers, who have demonstrated to the world that they’re more ready than ever for Summer Olympic success in Paris. We are cheering them on with special interest because these same riders will be here September 27-29 for the inaugural WHOOP UCI Mountain Biking World Series at Mt Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid.
So who are 2024’s Team USA mountain bike riders and what do we know about them?
Christopher Blevins
Durango, Colorado’s Christopher Blevins started the year strong, winning the April 13th Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) Mountain Biking World Cup in Brazil. Riding for Team Specialized Factory Racing, Blevins won that remarkable race, beating 94 other riders.
Having begun competitive BMX racing at age five, Blevins traveled widely around the country with his father throughout elementary and middle school. He switched to racing mountain and road bikes when he was 12 years old, while also benefitting from having a role model in the family in his older sister Kaylee, who was also on the U.S. National Mountain Bike Team.
After winning silver in the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in 2018, 2019, and again in 2020, he was selected to Team USA and participated in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, finishing 14th. In 2021, he won the men’s Cross-Country Short Track (XCC) World Championship in Val di Sole, Italy as well as his first Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) World Cup in Snowshoe, West Virginia that same year.
In addition to his win in Brazil earlier this year, he also placed second in the XCC World Cup events in both Araxa, Brazil and in Nove Mesto of the Czech Republic. Together, these wins show he’s primed for a great performance and a real shot at the podium at the Paris Olympic Games.
Blevins describes the opportunity in his own words, saying, “The magnitude of the Olympics is one of the most special things to experience as an athlete. Being a part of Team USA is a celebration that extends beyond yourself, and there’s a whole team giving their best in the sport we love. I was proud to make it to Tokyo in 2021, and maybe even more so to make my second Olympic games, with the opportunity to give it everything for a medal on July 29th in Paris. The sport of Mountain Biking is growing at an exciting rate in the States, and I know this Games will be another step in that direction.” (Palermo, 2024, USACycling.com)
Riley Amos
Much of the mountain biking world has had its eye on 22-year-old Riley Amos throughout his young career. This year that attention is intensifying as Amos, who is also from Durango, Colorado, has been putting on a clinic so far in the UCI Mountain Biking World Series and doing so with striking results. Racing on the Trek Factory Racing team, Amos is competing in high gear, smashing expectations, and winning races or otherwise reaching the podium in almost every race so far this year.
Amos began riding bikes in second grade with a youth mountain bike club in Durango known as DEVO. Immersed in the Durango culture of mountain biking, the junior development programs in this community of just 30,000 people produced Amos, a true rising star.
Given mountain biking’s roots in the U.S. and its ongoing popularity in so many corners of the country, it is baffling to many that no American male rider has ever won a medal in the span of seven Olympics since the sport was introduced to the Games in 1996. This year, however, Amos and Blevins, appear on the cusp of changing that.
Blevins and Amos will be joined by two outstanding counterparts on the women’s team who have achieved outstanding results on the World Series circuit this year. Haley Batten and Savilia Blunk are the two female riders selected for the U.S. Olympic Team, and both are ready to add to the U.S. medal count in mountain biking.
“I really don’t think it has sunk in yet that I will be representing my country in Paris this summer,” says Amos. “I think when I get to feel that atmosphere and really experience it all for the first time it’s all going to sink in. I am not really putting much pressure on the performance, but instead taking in this incredible opportunity and moment at the biggest mountain bike race in the world to celebrate how far we have come in the last few years and to learn all I can for the 2028 games. I’m proud to continue the legacy of Mountain Bike Olympians from Durango, Colorado, as I would not be who I am without my special little community at home.” (Palermo, 2024, USACycling.com)
Haley Batten
With Olympic experience under her belt from Tokyo in 2020, where she finished ninth, Batten’s solid experience is turning into power, as demonstrated this year in the UCI World Series. With wins in both the Cross-Country Short Track and Cross-Country Olympic World Cups in Brazil earlier this year, she also podiumed in two races in Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic.
She began cycling at nine years old in her hometown of Park City, Utah and won her first national title at age 14. Batten’s first year on the World Cup mountain biking circuit was 2021. She has ridden for Specialized Factory Racing since 2022 and in recent years, has been balancing training and competition with her academic life studying Liberal Arts and Sciences at Quest University in Squamish, British Columbia, where she is deeply engaged in studying the relationship between neuroscience and education.
With her deep experience and positive performances this year, Batten is leading the charge into Paris with her goals set high. Says Batten, “My Olympic pursuit has been an amazing journey. Through injury, personal growth, and relentless hard work, I am proud to earn my spot to represent Team USA in Paris. Throughout my youth, I have dreamed of becoming an Olympic athlete and to earn a medal for the USA. I am honored to have this opportunity and I am fully focused on preparing at my best.” (Palermo, 2024, USACycling.com)
Savilia Blunk
Sharing the podium with Haley Batten in Araxa, Brazil, was among Blunk’s greatest achievements so far this season. She finished third in both the XCO and XCC World Cup races there. Riding for Rockrider Ford Racing team, Blunk’s experience matches Batten’s in length and intensity.
Originally from Iverness, California, Blunk began racing with her high school’s National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) team and created her own team in 2021 before signing with her current team, Decathlon Ford Racing. She holds eight national titles and is currently the National Champion in XCO and XCC. In addition to her own racing, Blunk is a passionate supporter of young riders and seeks always to inspire others to embrace cycling as a lifelong sport and to feel empowered.
With her outstanding performances this season and in punching her ticket to the 2024 Olympic Games, she will certainly achieve that goal of inspiring others while also giving herself a great chance for the podium in Paris.
“Competing at the Olympics is something I’ve dreamed about ever since my first race in the NorCal NICA league,” says Blunk. “When I was 15, this dream felt almost inconceivable. I knew it would take a lot of hard work, but what was even harder to find in the process was team support, resources, and funding to get myself to the biggest stage. It was never a clear path, but I was relentlessly committed and never gave up. Now looking back, I realize this WAS the path all along – never giving up on my dreams. I’m so proud to have reached this moment and am super excited to represent the USA in Paris!” (Palermo, 2024, USACycling.com)
The lineup above affords Team USA four excellent opportunities for Olympic medals in mountain biking. With these and so many more of the world’s best riders coming to Lake Placid this fall, many in our region and far beyond will be watching closely.
So this September 27-29, come see these amazing athletes for yourself, and watch them on the incredibly beautiful and rugged terrain of Mt Van Hoevenberg in the Adirondacks. The excitement continues to build as we get closer, and the excitement of the slate of World Cup races is yours to experience. Get full event details and tickets here.