It seems that there are more changes afoot for Team USA for the UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Zolder at the end of the month. This time it’s again with the Women’s U23 squad.
Posting on her Facebook page, Sofia Gomez Villafane (Durango, Colorado/Summit -Competitive Cyclist) winner of the Women’s D1 collegiate title in Asheville and second in the Women’s Youth race there, says that the UCI is not allowing her to race for the United States at the World Championships.
Sofia Gomez Villafane, Collegiate D1 Women Champion, 2016 Cyclocross National Championships. © Cyclocross Magazine
Gomez Villafane reports that because she raced the Pan American Championships for Argentina as a junior back in 2012, that her nationality for racing purposes according to the UCI is Argentinian, rather than American. This despite the fact that Gomez Villafane has held dual citizenship since 2013 and races under an international USA racing license.
It seems that some incomplete paperwork makes her ineligible to ride for the US this year and that once the correction is made she’ll be allowed to race for the US at the World Championships starting in 2018.
Gomez Villafane is still making the trip to Zolder and racing Worlds however. She has been registered to race the Women’s U23 event through the Argentine Federation and will thus compete under that country’s flag.
There is no word yet from USA Cycling on who, if anyone, will replace Gomez Villafane on the Women’s U23 roster. Stay tuned for further updates and announcements.
