Matteo Jorgenson, Neilson Powless and Kristen Faulkner all to skip Rwanda World Championships for USA

Matteo Jorgenson, Kristen Faulkner, Neilson Powless and Brandon McNulty are all to skip the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda next month.

The quartet were revealed to have declined their nominations from USA Cycling as the governing body for the sport in the US revealed their 23-rider squad for the worlds.

Olympic champion Faulkner's absence from the team for the elite women's race means that the USA will have just two riders in the event, missing out on four available slots in the lineup.

Former time trial world champion Chloé Dygert (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), who finished second in the road race at the World Championships in Zürich last year, leads the two-woman squad, alongside Ruth Edwards (Human Powered Health), with the pair both taking part in the time trial too.

The elite men are led by Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), who finished ninth in the road race last year, two months after the American lit up the Tour de France with his aggressive riding.

The US elite men's team will also boast Will Barta (Movistar), Luke Lamperti (Soudal Quick-Step), Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers), Kevin Vermaerke (Picnic PostNL) and Larry Warbasse (Tudor Pro Cycling). Barta and Sheffield will ride the elite men's time trial.

The USA Cycling press release says: "The Kigali courses promise to test every rider with altitude and challenging terrain". The elite men's road race features over 6,000m of elevation in 267.5km, while the elite women's equivalent is 3,676m in 164.6km.

The USA is not alone in taking reduced squads to the World Championships; Denmark is not sending juniors and under-23 riders, and will also not be taking part in the TT events. The Netherlands, Italy, France and Ireland are all sending reduced squads too.

It is both a question of cost, with the World Championships taking place for the first time in Africa, and also travel. There is also the issue of politics and safety, with an ongoing conflict in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with UN experts alleging that Rwanda is supporting an armed rebel group fighting against Congolese forces, although Rwandan officials deny this.

In June, the president of Rwanda's cycling federation stressed that the country is safe and ready to host the worlds.

In the first-ever under-23 women's race, American U23 national champion Ella Sabo (Virginia’s Blue Ridge-TWENTY28) will lead the team, with U23 national TT champion Cole Kessler (Lidl-Trek Future Racing) leading the U23 men.

Ashlin Barry (JEGG-SKIL-DJR) will look to build on his fifth place last year in the junior men's road race, while Alyssa Sarkisov (dcdevo Racing Academy) will close out her junior years in the junior women's road race.

Full USA squad for Road World Championships

Elite Men

Will Barta (Movistar) - Road Race, Time Trial
Luke Lamperti (Soudal Quick-Step) - Road Race
Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) - Road Race, Time Trial
Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) - Road Race
Kevin Vermaerke (Team Picnic PostNL) - Road Race
Larry Warbasse (Tudor Pro Cycling) - Road Race

Elite Women

Chloe Dygert (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) - Road Race, Time Trial
Ruth Edwards (Human Powered Health) - Road Race, Time Trial

U23 Men

Evan Boyle (Hagens Berman Jayco) - Road Race
Cole Kessler (Lidl-Trek Future Racing) - Road Race, Time Trial

U23 Women

Mia Aseltine (Competitive Edge Racing) - Road Race, Time Trial
Helena Jones (AG Insurance-Soudal) - Road Race, Time Trial
Ella Sabo (Virginia’s Blue Ridge-TWENTY28) - Road Race
Katherine Sarkisov (CCB p/b Levine Law Group Cycling) - Road Race

Junior Men

Kashus Adamski (Hot Tubes Cycling) - Road Race
Ashlin Barry (JEGG - SKIL - DJR) - Road Race, Time Trial
Beckam Drake (Hill’s Sport Shop) - Road Race, Time Trial
Enzo Hincapie (EF Education-ONTO) - Road Race
Braden Reitz (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Newgen) - Road Race

Junior Women

Lidia Cusack (Tofauti Everyone Active Majaco) - Road Race, Time Trial
Liliana Edwards - Road Race, Time Trial
Alexis Jaramillo (Sonic Boom Racing) - Road Race
Alyssa Sarkisov (dcdevo Racing Academy)