COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 14, 2000) - Past Olympians, national champions and a world champion headline the 2000 U.S. Olympic Mountain Bike Team, which has been nominated to the United States Olympic Committee Friday by USA Cycling.

Three women and two men will represent the United States at the mountain bike cross-country events in Sydney. The women's event takes place Sept. 23, with the men competing Sept. 24

The women's team includes '99 Pan American Games gold medalist Alison Dunlap (Colorado Springs, Colo.), '91 world champion Ruthie Matthes (Durango, Colo.) and three-time U.S. World Mountain Bike Championship team member Ann Trombley (Golden, Colo.)

Competing in the men's event will be '99 national champion Travis Brown (Boulder, Colo.) and '96 Olympic mountain biker Tinker Juarez (Downey, Calif.).

The course suits the U.S. athletes. It's technical, the race will be strategic, and we will be ready for that," said USA Cycling national and Olympic mountain bike coach Stephane Girard. "Hopefully, one of our riders will get on the podium."

A six-time national champion in mountain bike, road and cyclo-cross, Dunlap is currently ranked second in the world and the World Cup series. In addition to the gold medal at the Pan Am Games, Dunlap also captured two mountain bike national titles in 1999. Since switching from road to mountain biking full time in 1997, the Colorado native has won two World Cup events and seven national mountain bike races. Dunlap finished 37th at the Olympic road cycling race at the' 96 Olympic Games.

Matthes' 10-year mountain bike career is highlighted by three-consecutive national mountain bike titles (1996-98). A former road cyclist, Matthes won the world mountain bike title in 1991 after racing off-road for just one year. A three-time World Cup race winner and six-time world championship medalist, she is currently ranked seventh in the world and ninth in the World Cup series. In 1996, she placed fourth in the Olympic Team qualification series.

Trombley, who worked as a physical therapist through 1999, turned pro in 1995. Since then, she has consistently placed in the top-10 in the national championship series. This year, she stepped up her international competition schedule, earning her career-best World Cup performance in Italy (seventh). Trombley, currently ranked 13th in the world and 12th in the World Cup series, won the Olympic Long Team qualifying event in March.

"I believe that we are sending a very strong women's team. These three athletes have proven throughout the World Cup season that they are competitive at the highest international level," said Girard. "Alison (Dunlap) is currently ranked number two in the world rankings, so obviously she will be one of the favorites for the podium. Ruthie (Matthes) and Ann (Trombley) have also had a great season."

Brown experienced several obstacles on his path to the Olympic Team. In 1996, the Colorado native was on track to make the team when he broke his collarbone in the last U.S. Olympic qualifier that year. In April 2000, after being named to the Olympic Long Team, Brown crashed and broke his tibia at the World Cup race in Mexico. He returned to racing in late June and began a successful comeback. Most recently, he was the top American finisher in the two Olympic qualifying races in Canada. En route to winning his first mountain bike national title in '99, Brown has captured four national race wins in his career.

Juarez began his cycling career in 1973 as a BMX racer. After switching to mountain biking in 1989, Juarez has earned three national mountain bike titles (1994-95, 1998) and a gold medal at the '95 Pan American Games. After placing first overall in the '96 Olympic selection qualifying races, he placed 19th at the Games in Atlanta. He is currently the top-ranked ranked American in the World Cup series (37th) and took 10th at April's World Cup race in Mexico. He joined the 2000 Olympic Long Team after finishing as the top American in March's qualifying event.

"The men's team is getting stronger every year," Girard said. "After being injured in April, Travis (Brown) showed some very encouraging results during the last two World Cup races. Two months down the road, he can only be faster. Tinker (Juarez) also had a good result at the test event last year in Sydney."

This is the second time cross-country mountain biking will be contested in the Olympic Games, after being added in 1996. Cross-country is the only mountain bike discipline included in the Olympic Games. Susan DeMattei (Gunnison, Colo.) earned a bronze medal at the '96 Games.

Girard joined USA Cycling in February 1998, as the primary director of the national mountain bike program. He served as a junior regional and assistant national coach with the French federation. In 1999, he received USA Cycling's Development Coach of the Year Award.

DOUBLE DUTY: Only two U.S. women have competed in two separate cycling disciplines at the Olympic Games. In addition to competing at the Sydney mountain bike race, Dunlap finished 37th in the road cycling race at the '96 Olympic Games. Jeanne Golay competed on the road at the '92 Games in Barcelona, Spain and road and track in '96 in Atlanta.

WORLD RANKINGS: In 1999, the U.S. women were ranked second in the world, with the men placing 10th.

COLORADO CONNECTION: Of the five mountain bike athletes, four are from Colorado and two are Colorado natives.

OTHER OLYMPIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: The three-member U.S. Olympic women’s road cycling roster will be named Wednesday, July 19. The five-member U.S. Olympic men’s road cycling squad will be disclosed Tuesday, Aug. 1. The track cycling team was named July 7 and may be found at www.usacycling.org.

2000 U.S. OLYMPIC CYCLING TEAM, mountain bike (cross-country) Name/Residence/web bio address

WOMEN (3) Alison Dunlap/Colorado Springs, Colo. Ruthie Matthes/Durango, Colo. Ann Trombley/Golden, Colo.

MEN (2) Travis Brown/Boulder, Colo. Tinker Juarez/Downey, Calif.