These are the top American professional cyclists

American road cycling has been in decline the past few years due primarily to a lack of participation and dwindling funds to host major events on U.S. soil.

In addition, there are only two U.S.-based World Tour teams — EF Education-EasyPost and Lidl-Trek.

The Tour of California, the Tour of Utah and the Colorado Classic, races that were once premier U.S. events for many up-and-coming American cyclists, are defunct.

“With fewer high-profile races on home soil, American riders are forced to head overseas earlier in their careers, often struggling to find opportunities in a European-centric sport,” according to a 2024 article at CyclingUpToDate.com.

“While nations like Belgium, the Netherlands and France continue to foster talent through well-funded grassroots programs, the U.S. has fallen behind. The pipeline of young American riders coming through the ranks has slowed, leaving the country with a smaller pool of talent at the sport’s highest levels.”

But that doesn’t mean there are no American pro riders making a mark on the cycling world.

At least a dozen men ride for Grand Tour teams, including Matteo Jorgensen, of Boise, Idaho, and Sepp Kuss, of Durango, Colorado. Both ride of Jumbo Visma-Lease A Bike, one of the top teams in the world.

Some of them will be in the saddle this week for the first of pro cycling’s three Grand Tours, the 21-day Giro d’Italia, which starts Friday. The Tour de France in July and the Vuelta a España in August/September are the other two. Only one American has won the Giro, Andy Hampsten in 1988.

Idaho pro cyclist wins again

Jorgenson won a prestigious eight-day race that serves as a proving ground for future Grand Tour contenders in 2024 and defended his title this year in the snow, sleet and rain in March. The 25-year-old is the first American to win the race twice.

“Paris-Nice is turning into an American race,” Jorgenson said after his victory.

Magnus Sheffield, 23, a former skier turned cyclist from Pittsford, New York, won the eighth stage of Paris-Nice and finished just off the podium in fourth overall. He rides for Ineos Grenadiers.

“Both Americans were overjoyed and emotional in their post-race interviews, equally in love with the race and feeling the immense weight of professional cycling,” according to Outside Magazine.

Jorgenson has said he’s too tall at 6′2′’ to win a Grand Tour but that he’s slowly changing his mind.

“We’re burning a lot more calories every single day and racing a lot harder in Grand Tours, and that makes it more challenging for bigger guys like myself because the bigger you are, the more air you have to push around and the more food you have to absorb,” he recently told Cyclist.

“They’re limiting factors that made me skeptical about winning a Grand Tour. But the Tour last year (he finished 8th in the Tour de France) definitely changed my opinion, and I think if I really nail everything and can make some improvements with nutrition, I think it could be possible. The team is convinced I can do it.”

Americans in the pro peloton

Sepp Kuss, of Durango, Colorado, is another top American rider and teammate of Jorgenson on the Jumbo Visa squad. Kuss won the Vuelta a España in 2023 and a stage of the Tour de France in 2021. He rode inconsistently and endured injuries last season.

Kuss, 30, has been touted as a potential team leader but acknowledged he’s more comfortable in a support role. “I find the best version of myself when I start to help other riders,” he said, per CyclingUpToDate.

The “Durango Kid” was a key domestique in teammate Jonas Vingegaard’s Tour de France wins in 2022 and 2023. He and Jorgenson will be working to put Vingegaard atop the podium in Paris again this year.

Neilson Powless, 29, has the distinction of being the first Native American to compete in the Tour de France, which he has done five times. A member of EF Education-EasyPost, the Florida man won several one-day races in his career and has top 10 finishes in the Tour of Flanders, Paris–Nice and Milan–San Remo.

Brandon McNulty, the reigning U.S. time trial champion, won the time trial stage of the Tour de Romandie for UAE Team Emirates last month, with fellow American Sheffield finishing third. McNulty helped UAE teammate Tadej Pogačar win the 2021 Tour de France. The 27-year-old McNulty, who grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, won a stage of the Giro d’Italia in 2023.

Other U.S. riders on World Tour teams include:

Quinn Simmons, 23, Durango, Colorado — Lidl-Trek

Luke Lamperti, 22, Santa Rosa, California — Soudal Quick-Step

Kevin Vermaerke, 24, Rancho Santa Margarita, California — Team Picnic PostNL

Andrew August, 19, Rochester, New York — Ineos Grenadiers

Artum Shmidt, 21, Cumming, Georgia — Ineos Grenadiers

Will Barta, 29, Boise, Idaho — Movistar Team

Sean Quinn, 24, Los Angeles, California — EF Education-EasyPost

Colby Simmons, 21, Durango, Colorado — EF Education-EasyPost

The USA Cycling Pro Road Championships will be held May 19-26 in Charleston, West Virginia. Quinn is the reigning American road race champion. The event serves as a qualifier for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.