Haley Batten and Christopher Blevins Win Pan American MTB Championship Gold
Cycling Mountain Bike
The Americans continued their winning ways at the Pan American Mountain Bike Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah, from 8 to 12 May. The U.S. swept two podiums and featured at the top of every Elite and U23 podium, establishing the nation's continental dominance.
Riders continue to race for national quotas and individual points in mountain bike ahead of Paris 2024. The Pan American MTB Championships offered one final chance to advance up the rankings ahead of the final UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, later this month.
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
Batten and Courtney win top spots
Let’s start with the women. Team USA’s Haley Batten continued her winning streak as the most dominant rider across the five-day event. The Park City, Utah native took full advantage of her hometown crowd, earning gold in both Cross-country short track (XCC) and Cross-country Olympic (XCO), followed by America’s Kate Courtney with silver in both events.
Friday’s XXC showcased a remarkable display of U.S. dominance, featuring a podium sweep by the U.S. women’s team: Batten, Courtney, and Bailey Cioppa secured the top three spots on the podium. Team USA’s Makena Kellerman also put up a strong performance, finishing in fourth place.
The women’s XCO event on Sunday afternoon again saw the U.S. women dominate, with Batten pulling well ahead of the field and finishing with a three-second lead ahead of Courtney to take the gold, making it another silver for Courtney. Canada’s Sandra Walter finished in bronze.
Batten is currently leading the UCI World Cup points, with U.S. teammate Savilia Blunk, who was not racing this weekend, ranked third. The remarkable performance of the U.S. women earning 5 of the 6 Elite podium spots—plus the U.S. U23 women, Madigan Munro and Bailey Cioppa, earning gold and bronze with Canada’s Ella McPhee in silver in XCO—showcases the incredible depth of the women’s mountain bike team and continues to highlight the competitive qualifying process for the two U.S. Olympic berths.
Amos and Blevins take gold for the men
In the men’s field, Christopher Blevins and Riley Amos are both racing for Nation points to keep the U.S. men among the top 8 and earn two quota spots for Paris 2024; the U.S. is currently ranked 7th.
In Friday’s Elite XCC, Amos and Blevins battled head-to-head to the finish line, with Amos taking the gold, Blevins in silver, and Canada’s Gunnar Holmgren earning bronze.
Saturday was for the Under-23 division, with Amos following Friday’s gold with another in the U23 XCO atop a men’s U.S. podium sweep, which included Brayden Johnson in silver and Carson Beard in bronze. This win furthered Amos’ goal of increasing his UCI rankings.
And Sunday evening marked the end of a long week for the overall favorite going into this event, Blevins. The American is determined to accrue additional Olympic points, and he did just that, earning gold in the men’s Elite XCO, followed by Mexico’s Adair Prieto with silver and Canada’s Gunnar Holmgren again in bronze.
Get the full results from every category here.
What's next for mountain bike qualifications?
The next and final competition ahead of Paris 2024 will be the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, from 24 to 26 May. This event marks the end of the Olympic qualification period for the UCI tour, with rankings expected to be final at the close of the event on 27 May.