{"id":154442,"date":"2025-09-19T07:56:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T07:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/154442\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T07:56:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T07:56:15","slug":"why-are-americas-top-medal-hopes-skipping-the-rwanda-worlds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/154442\/","title":{"rendered":"Why are America\u2019s top medal hopes skipping the Rwanda worlds?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of America’s top stars are bypassing Africa’s first worlds as Team USA hunts first elite road rainbow jersey in decades: ‘Not the best course for me.’<\/p>\n

\"McNulty\"<\/p>\n

McNulty won GP Montr\u00e9al for the biggest one-day win of his career. (Photo: Szymon Gruchalski\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Updated September 18, 2025 06:41AM<\/p>\n

The UCI road worlds<\/a> begin this weekend in Rwanda, but several of America\u2019s biggest stars are nowhere to be seen.<\/p>\n

Matteo Jorgenson, double Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner<\/a>, Neilson Powless<\/a>, Sepp Kuss, and Brandon McNulty all forfeited invitations or decided to skip the trip.<\/p>\n

For Team USA, still chasing its first official elite road rainbow jersey in three decades, is this a missed opportunity on the demanding, climb-heavy course?<\/p>\n

On paper, it looked like an ideal chance for the United States to finally break its decades-long drought in the elite road races.<\/p>\n

Also read: Rwanda road worlds primer<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say that the U.S. team is under-gunned.<\/p>\n

For the elite men\u2019s squad, Team USA will line up with Will Barta and Magnus Sheffield racing both the road race and the time trial, with Luke Lamperti, Quinn Simmons<\/a>, Kevin Vermaerke, and Larry Warbasse carrying team colors in the road race.<\/p>\n

On the elite women\u2019s team, Chlo\u00e9 Dygert<\/a> and Ruth Edwards will double up in both the road race and the time trial.<\/p>\n

So why the worlds detour for some of America\u2019s generational talents in 2025? Let\u2019s dive in:<\/p>\n

Neilson Powless: Family comes first
\n\"\"Powless is putting family before the worlds. (Photo by Szymon Gruchalski\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Neilson Powless has been America\u2019s most consistent worlds performer this decade, highlighted by his fifth place in Leuven four years ago. But this year family takes priority.<\/p>\n

Fresh off fourth place at GP Montr\u00e9al, Powless is clearly on good form and would be among Team USA\u2019s best chances at the podium.<\/p>\n

His fifth in Leuven was the best by an elite male since Chann McRae was fifth in 1999, and he has proven consistency in the grueling, monument-distance worlds, hitting team-leading top 20s with 11th in 2023, and 18th in 2022.<\/p>\n

Powless, 29, told reporters in Canada that his wife is expecting their second child, adding that the long travel and commitment didn\u2019t fit in with something bigger than a bike race.<\/p>\n

The EF Education-EasyPost rider is still considering closing his season at Il Lombardia in October.<\/p>\n

Matteo Jorgenson: \u2018Prefer to be home\u2019
\n\"Jorgenson\"Jorgenson is bypassing the worlds after a long season that stretched from Paris-Nice to the Vuelta. (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Matteo Jorgenson has had the pedal to the metal all season long, from a title defense at Paris-Nice, the spring classics, through a Tour de France-Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a double.<\/p>\n

There simply wasn\u2019t enough gas left in the tank for a long trip to Africa.<\/p>\n

Despite a proven track record in prestigious one-day races, including ninth in last year\u2019s Olympic Games in Paris, Jorgenson said that the high-altitude, climb-heavy Kigali course also isn\u2019t ideal for his tastes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does not look like a good course for me on paper,\u201d Jorgenson told Velo. \u201cPlus, it\u2019s been a long season. My sister is getting married in October after this race, and I prefer to be home and celebrate this season with my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jorgenson, 26, has raced road worlds in his career in the junior, U23, and elite ranks, and told Velo last year he one day hopes to have a targeted run at the rainbow jersey. His 34th in Zurich last year remains his best.<\/p>\n

Kristen Faulkner: Recovery takes priority<\/p>\n

\"KristenKristen Faulkner won the Olympic road race in 2024. (Photo: Getty Images\/Velo)<\/p>\n

Kristen Faulkner\u2019s absence leaves a gaping hole in the women\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

The double Olympic gold medalist in Paris would have been among the top favorites for Kigali.<\/p>\n

Instead, she\u2019s recovering from surgery and will not race again in 2025<\/a>. Faulkner underwent shoulder surgery to repair cartilage damage dating back to a crash at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.<\/p>\n

She is confident in a full recovery and return on a normal schedule for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe surgery was very successful,\u201d she said last month. \u201cWith the timing of it, I\u2019ll be able to start next season on a normal timeline. I\u2019ll be healthy and fully recovered going into next season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sepp Kuss: \u2018Not the best worlds for me\u2019
\n\"SeppKuss, left, kicked to second on Bola del Mundo and will finished seventh in Madrid. (Photo: Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Sepp Kuss, America\u2019s most accomplished grand tour rider of this generation, has waved off Rwanda despite the hilly profile.<\/p>\n

The 2023 Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a champion has good reasons.<\/p>\n

Like his Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Jorgenson, Kuss is coming off the Tour-Vuelta double, where he helped Jonas Vingegaard win red and hit seventh overall, his second-best grand tour result of his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s actually not the best worlds for me. There is a lot of climbing, but it\u2019s a lot of punchy climbs,\u201d Kuss told Velo. \u201cIt\u2019s not a course that\u2019s best for me, and after two grand tours, it just doesn\u2019t make sense for me to go and take up a spot of someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kuss has lined up at the worlds before, but never played a role in the sharp end. His best finish remains 53rd in Imola 2020.<\/p>\n

Brandon McNulty: Focus on Europe
\n\"\"Poga\u010dar and McNulty celebrate in Montr\u00e9al. (Photo: Szymon Gruchalski\/Getty Images )<\/p>\n

Brandon McNulty is another notable absentee.<\/p>\n

At 27, McNulty is in peak form and carries impressive worlds credentials. He won the junior time trial in 2016, was fourth in the elite TT in 2023 and 17th in Zurich last year on the road, and has twice stood on U23 podiums against the clock.<\/p>\n

Just days after winning GP Montr\u00e9al, the UAE Emirates-XRG rider chose to continue his season in Europe rather than fly to Rwanda.<\/p>\n

To finish off what\u2019s been a superb 2025 season that included a first grand tour top 10 with ninth at the Giro d\u2019Italia, he\u2019s racing the Tour of Luxembourg and the CRO Race before wrapping his season.<\/p>\n

Already eyeing Montr\u00e9al
\n\"Pogacar\"The 2026 worlds, held on elements of the GP de Montr\u00e9al course, are already on everyone\u2019s agenda. (Photo: Szymon Gruchalski\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The U.S. has a long and complicated history with the rainbow jersey.<\/p>\n

Greg LeMond won the elite men\u2019s world title twice, with victories in 1983 and 1989. Lance Armstrong\u2019s 1993 triumph is clouded in controversy.<\/p>\n

On the women\u2019s side, the drought stretches back even further.<\/p>\n

Audrey McElmury claimed the title in 1969, and Beth Heiden won in 1980. Megan Guarnier\u2019s bronze in Richmond 2015 and Dygert\u2019s silver in 2024 are the lone podiums in the elusive road race world title the team\u2019s been chasing for decades.<\/p>\n

Also read: How will Team USA fare in Rwanda?<\/a><\/p>\n

Why did so many Americans skip worlds this year?<\/p>\n

Part of it is the relentless demands of the modern calendar. By September, there\u2019s little left in the tank, and health and family always come first.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the closer-to-home and more appealing world championship course waiting in Montr\u00e9al in 2026.<\/p>\n

Expect all the top American pros to put a big circle around that date for next season.<\/p>\n

That leaves Team USA with a talented but thinner squad in Kigali for Africa\u2019s first road worlds. The riders who are going are committed to getting something out of the race.<\/p>\n

A medal isn\u2019t out of reach.<\/p>\n

Dygert remains a top favorite for the time trial, and Simmons \u2014 a junior road world champion in 2019 and ninth last year in Zurich \u2014 has been on a roll this season.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some of America’s top stars are bypassing Africa’s first worlds as Team USA hunts first elite road rainbow…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":154443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,62140,82,56902,77319,79743,81378,81379,54267],"class_list":{"0":"post-154442","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-parent_category-news","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-tag-american-racing","14":"tag-tag-brandon-mcnulty","15":"tag-tag-chloe-dygert","16":"tag-tag-kristen-faulkner","17":"tag-tag-matteo-jorgenson","18":"tag-type-article"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}