How Athletes Are Selected to Teams

USA Cycling is responsible for selecting the athletes who represent the United States in the highest level of international competition (e.g., Olympic Games, World Championships, or Pan-American Championships). USA Cycling is committed to implementing a fair and transparent process which will place athletes who provide the United States with the greatest likelihood of success on the start line. Athletes are selected according to clearly defined criteria and a clearly defined process. There are two ways an athlete can make a team – by automatically qualifying or being selected according to discretionary criteria.

Automatic Selection

USA Cycling establishes specific automatic selection criteria for each event in each discipline. By design, only proven contenders for medaling at the highest level of international competition will meet the automatic selection criteria. Examples of automatic selection criteria include medaling at the most recent World Championships or ranking in the top 5 of the UCI World Cup rankings. Automatic selection criteria are established by USA Cycling with input from its independent Selection Committee (explained further below) and a democratically elected representative of USA Cycling elite athletes known as the Athletes Advisory Council Representative (AAC Rep). For qualification for the Olympic Games, the automatic selection criteria must also be approved by the US Olympic Committee (USOC).

Discretionary Selection

It is common that the United States will qualify for more available positions at an event than there are athletes who meet the automatic selection criteria. In such cases, USA Cycling selects athletes on a discretionary basis using a clearly defined selection process defined in each selection criteria document. Recommendations for who shall be selected are made by USA Cycling coaching staff, but final selection decisions are the responsibility of an independent, volunteer Selection Committee. Decisions are made using criteria and decision-making guidelines defined in the Discretionary Selection section of each document. Each selection criteria document is created by USA Cycling with input from the Selection Committee, AAC Rep, and the USOC.