USA Cycling is proud to welcome aboard three new members to the Sports Performance staff: Craig Griffin as the Senior Director of Track, Tanner Putt as the Director of Road, and German Medina as the BMX Racing National Team Coach. The Sport Performance team is growing as it approaches the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with an increasingly ambitious medal goal for the next Olympic cycle, Los Angeles 2028.
German Medina, BMX Racing National Team Coach
Medina recently joined the organization to run the USA Cycling BMX Racing National Team program. Medina has raced BMX since 1983, and was a pioneer in bringing science based training to the early years of BMX Racing in Colombia.
Medina worked for the Colombian Olympic Committee from 2007-2022 coaching the BMX Racing team since the sports Olympic debut in 2008. Over the past four Olympic Games, the Colombian BMX Team has raced to six Olympic medals under his guidance, including two gold medals won by Mariana Pajon.
Medina will relocate from his home in Bogota, Colombia to Tulsa, Oklahoma where he will help the U.S. achieve international success and to grow the next generation of BMX racers. He will work alongside the current staff of BMX Development Coach, Arielle Martin-Verhaaran, and Senior Director of BMX Racing
USA Cycling and Woodward - a global experiential action sports company - create a pathway for riders of all abilities with their new partnership lasting through 2028. From beginner BMX riders all the way up to Team USA, this partnership provides a constant platform for learning and progressing year-round. In addition to hosting the USA Cycling BMX Freestyle Nationals Championships and the USA Cycling Olympic Development Academy, Woodward becomes the official training facility and sponsor to the BMX Freestyle National Team.
“This partnership between Woodward and USA Cycling furthers my commitment to coach and support U.S. BMX athletes and encourage riders of all ages and abilities to pursue their dreams,” said
USA Cycling announced today the 18 athletes that will be representing the United States at the 2021 UCI BMX Racing World Championships in Papendal, The Netherlands on August 17-22. Reigning World Champion, Alise Willoughby, will be looking for her third world title. Five of the Elite riders, Alise Willoughby, Felicia Stancil, Payton Ridenour, Connor Fields and Corben Sharrah, will be representing Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics on July 29-30, 2021. “Even though we are focused on the Olympic Games, we are still excited to have a World Championship this year in Papendal. We all missed the Worlds last year in Houston due to COVID, so I know everyone will be excited to travel and get back to racing,” said Jamie Staff, Director of BMX. “We have a strong line-up in both the Elite and Junior classes and we hope to bring home some hardware. Post Tokyo, we will be focused on our Junior racers as we look ahead to Paris 2024 and LA 2028.”
Junior Men
Charles Biggs (Rock Hill, S.C.; Rockstar Rift/Tangent)
Nolan Cardwell (Belmont, N.C.; Rival Racing)
Brandon Crain (Riverside, Calif.; Factory Answer)
Drew Polk (Avon, Ind.; Hyper Bicycles)
Junior Women
Sierra Altendorf (Everett, Wash.; Raise for Rowyn/CMU Cycling)
USA Cycling National Championships Individual - Rock Hill, South Carolina - 28 March 2021.
Elite Men:
1 11 FIELDS Connor USA 60 UCI points
2 338 LARSEN Kamren USA 45
3 187 GARCIA Jared USA 40
4 63 VANKAMMEN Zachary USA 35
5 46 GUSTAFSON Kenneth USA 30
6 259 SMITH Jeremy USA 25
7 24 SHARRAH Corben USA 20
8 406 WOOD Cameron USA 15
Elite Women:
Racing in Houston, Texas at the Rockstar Bike Park for the national title. Come along on my GoPro!
USA Cycling National Championship - Houston, Texas - 06 March 2020
Elite Men:
1 11 FIELDS Connor USA 60 points
2 259 SMITH Jeremy USA 45
3 63 VANKAMMEN Zachary USA 40
4 555 HOUSE Riley USA 35
5 187 GARCIA Jared USA 30
6 406 WOOD Cameron USA 25
7 338 LARSEN Kamren USA 20
8 937 UPSHAW Jeffery USA 15
Elite Women:
1 1 WILLOUGHBY Alise USA 60 points
2 6 STANCIL Felicia USA 45
3 32 CRAIN Brooke USA 40
4 99 GEORGE Danielle USA 35
5 880 VAUGHN Daleny USA 30
6 10 RENO Shealen USA 25
USA Cycling published the first three stories on their newly launched storytelling platform, In Our Own Words. The platform was created to give USA Cycling members a place to share their experiences, passions and interests in their own words – a space to talk about the things that are important to them. It is envisioned that stories will cover a range of topics including such things as mental health, diversity, inclusion, clean sport, overcoming adversity, SafeSport and more.
"In Our Own Words is aimed at giving our members a way to speak candidly about issues that are important to them so that we can start having critical conversations and addressing common issues within our community," said Kelsey Erickson, SafeSport Director for USA Cycling, "We are excited to provide a space for members to share their experiences and we hope that this platform will evolve into place where our members can feel heard, recognized, supported and able to engage in productive dialogue on the important issues raised."
The first set of articles feature the voices of some familiar faces in American Cycling, including Phil Gaimon and Katie Compton, as well as a contribution from an anonymous member, with topics ranging from Depression and Overcoming Injuries to defending the sanctity of cycling and its athletes through reporting SafeSport violations.
"Our members need to know that we support them on and off the bike," said Rob DeMartini, President
USA Cycling announces an official partnership with apparel and lifestyle brands Champion Athleticwear and the Levi’s® brand. This first-of-its-kind partnership will be centered around designing and creating an apparel line for the USA Cycling's BMX Freestyle National Team that includes the athletes, coaches and staff. The apparel will notably be shown as part of the BMX Freestyle kit at the sport's inaugural debut in the Olympic Games, Tokyo 2020.
Through the partnership, Levi’s® and Champion will help USA Cycling bring BMX Freestyle to the masses. They will receive global visibility on the Team USA BMX Freestyle kit during international competitions; allowing them to bridge the unique circumstances that BMX Freestyle brings through its
USA Cycling announced today the 17 athletes that will be representing the U.S. National Team at the 2019 UCI BMX Racing World Championships in Zolder Belgium on July 27th. Among the riders are 2016 Olympic Gold and Silver medalists Connor Fields and Alise Willoughby as well as 2017 World Champion Corben Sharrah, 2017 was also the same year that Willoughby claimed her World Title.
Junior Women
Payton Ridenour (Pottstown Penn.; Haro - Dale Holmes Racing)
Emily Hayes (Colorado Springs Colo.; Sponsor: V3gate RideCo Supercross)
Daleny Vaughn (Tucson Ariz.; Sponsor: Redman Racing)
Mckenzie Gayheart (Fort White Fla.; Sponsor: Full Tilt )
Junior Men
Cameron Wood (Avondale, Ariz.; Sponsor: Alpha)
Elite Women
Alise Willoughby (Chula Vista, Calif.; Promax/GW/Klean/Troy Lee Designs)
USA Cycling announced today the process that will select the 2020 Olympic Team for the exciting discipline of BMX Racing, now in its fourth Olympic Games, and the new Olympic discipline of BMX Freestyle. The organization has published the Athlete Selection Criteria for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo for BMX Freestyle and Racing on its website. The USA Cycling Selection Committee set forth to create criteria that would not only select the best athletes, but was objective and easy for athletes and their coaches to understand.
The maximum quota of athletes for the BMX Freestyle discipline is two athletes per gender. Quota slots will be initially filled in order of their ranking in the USA Cycling Olympic BMX Freestyle Rankings as of May 12, 2020. Points towards an athlete’s rankings will be awarded for their best four finishes in UCI Freestyle World Cup events plus the 2019 World Championships between January 1, 2019 and May 12, 2020. Athletes must finish in the top 8 in these events to earn Olympic BMX Freestyle Ranking points.
The maximum quota of athletes for the BMX Racing discipline is three athletes per gender. Like BMX Freestyle, quota slots will be filled per gender by athletes in order of their ranking in the USA Cycling Olympic BMX Racing Rankings as of June 2, 2020. Points towards their rankings will be awarded based on their best ten finishes in the finals (top 8) at UCI BMX Racing World Cup events plus 2019 and 2020 World Championship events with a Maximum of twelve scores counting between January 1, 2019 and