Chloé Dygert (/ˈkl. ˈdɡərt/ KLOH-ee DYE-ghərt; born January 1, 1997)[3] is an American professional racing cyclist[4] who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Canyon–SRAM.[5] She has won eight gold medals at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships and four medals (one gold, one silver, and two bronze) at the Olympic Games. She also won the Women's junior road race and Women's junior time trial at the 2015 UCI Road World Championships.

Chloé Dygert
Dygert in 2018
Personal information
Full nameChloé Dygert
Born (1997-01-01) January 1, 1997 (age 27)
Brownsburg, Indiana, U.S.
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[1]
Weight147 lb (67 kg)[1]
Team information
Current teamCanyon–SRAM
Disciplines
RoleRider
Rider type
  • Time trialist (road)
  • Pursuitist (track)
Amateur team
2020Twenty20 Pro Cycling
Professional teams
2016–2019TWENTY16–Ridebiker[2]
2021–Canyon–SRAM
Major wins
Road

One-day races and Classics

World Time Trial Championships (2019, 2023)
National Time Trial Championships (2021, 2023)
Track
Team pursuit, Olympic Games (2024)

Career

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Chloé Dygert was athletic from childhood on and played mainly basketball in her early years. However, she did not take cycling seriously until after a shoulder injury in 2013. After another injury she was forced to retire from basketball. In 2015 she became national junior champion, in road racing and individual time trial, as well as two-time Junior World Champion in the same disciplines. Then she received an invitation from the US cycling federation USA Cycling.[6]

In March 2016, Dygert started at the World Cup in London as a member of the US four-in-four team pursuit and won the world title with the team. In the same year, nineteen-year-old Dygert was nominated to participate in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where she won a silver medal in the team pursuit.

The 2016 Olympic Pursuit Team was marked by controversy. The head coach, Andy Sparks, was fired for fostering a hostile environment.[7] Dygert supported Sparks and continued to work with him until 2018.[8]

At the 2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Hong Kong, she became World Champion in the team pursuit for the second time, along with Kelly Catlin, Jennifer Valente and Kimberly Geist and clinched the world title in the singles pursuit. In May 2017, she won her first Panamerican title, in the individual time trial on the road.

At the 2018 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Dygert won two titles: along with Kelly Catlin, Jennifer Valente and Kimberly Geist in the team pursuit and in the individual pursuit. She succeeded the victory in the individual pursuit in an outstanding manner: she set a world record two times in a row, in the qualification as well as in the final (3:20.060 minutes). Her record from the final caught the record of road cycling time-trial world champion, the Dutchwoman Annemiek van Vleuten. In the Pan American Games in 2019 she won gold in the individual time trial.[9]

On September 24, 2020, at the UCI Road World Championships, Dygert crashed during the women's time trial event,[10] suffering a laceration to her left leg which required surgery.[11] That November, Dygert signed a four-year contract with UCI Women's WorldTeam Canyon–SRAM, from the 2021 season.[12]

Personal life

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In November 2016, she married fellow professional cyclist Logan Owen and took his surname.[13] The marriage ended in divorce in January 2020.[14]

As of April 2024, Dygert was in a relationship with Axel Merckx, with whom she was living in Belgium.[15]

A 2020 profile by her sponsor Red Bull noted that she is a conservative who does not believe in feminism.[16]

Dygert issued a public apology in November 2020 for her social media conduct that was deemed inappropriate.[17] Some criticized her apology as "not sufficient".[18]

Career achievements

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Dygert in 2017.

Major results

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Road

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2013
National Amateur Championships
3rd Road race
3rd Time trial
2015
UCI World Junior Championships
1st   Road race
1st   Time trial
National Amateur Championships
1st   Road race
1st   Time trial
2016
6th Overall Tour of California
1st   Young rider classification
1st Stage 2 (TTT)
2017
1st   Time trial, Pan American Championships
4th Time trial, UCI World Championships
2018
Tour of the Gila
1st Stages 2 & 3 (ITT)
2nd Chrono Kristin Armstrong
6th Overall Joe Martin Stage Race
1st   Young rider classification
1st Stage 4
2019
1st   Time trial, UCI World Championships
1st   Time trial, Pan American Games
1st   Overall Colorado Classic
1st   Points classification
1st   Mountains classification
1st   Young rider classification
1st Stages 1, 2, 3 & 4
1st   Overall Joe Martin Stage Race
1st   Points classification
1st   Mountains classification
1st   Young rider classification
1st Stages 1 & 4
1st Chrono Kristin Armstrong
2nd Overall Tour of the Gila
1st   Young rider classification
1st Stages 3 (ITT) & 4
National Championships
2nd Time trial
4th Road race
2021
1st   Time trial, National Championships
7th Time trial, Olympic Games
2023
1st   Time trial, UCI World Championships
National Championships
1st   Road race
1st   Time trial
2nd Overall RideLondon Classique
1st Stage 2
4th Overall Vuelta a Burgos
2024
UCI Road World Championships
2nd   Road race
3rd   Time trial
3rd   Time trial, Olympic Games
6th Classic Brugge–De Panne

Track

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2016
1st   Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
2nd   Team pursuit, Olympic Games
2017
UCI World Championships
1st   Individual pursuit
1st   Team pursuit
UCI World Cup
1st Individual pursuit, Los Angeles
1st Team pursuit, Los Angeles
2018
UCI World Championships
1st   Team pursuit
1st   Individual pursuit
2019
1st   Team pursuit, Pan American Championships
2020
UCI World Championships
1st   Team pursuit
1st   Individual pursuit
2021
3rd   Team pursuit, Olympic Games
2023
1st   Individual pursuit, UCI World Championships
2024
1st   Team pursuit, Olympic Games

World records

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Event Record Date Meet Location Ref
Individual pursuit 3:17.283 February 29, 2020 World Championships   Berlin, Germany [19]
3:16.937 [19]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Chloé Dygert". teamusa.org. United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on July 8, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  2. ^ "Sho-Air TWENTY20 Announces 2019 Roster with 4 Canadians". CanadianCyclist.com. Canadian Cyclist. January 16, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  3. ^ "DYGERT Chloe". Paris 2024 Olympics. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  4. ^ "Chloe Dygert". Cycling Archives. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  5. ^ "Canyon//SRAM Racing". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  6. ^ "19-year-old Chloe Dygert ready to chase gold at Rio Olympics | NBC Olympics". August 4, 2016. Archived from the original on August 4, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  7. ^ Weislo, Laura (March 3, 2017). "USA women's team pursuit coach dismissed from program after SafeSport complaint". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  8. ^ "Dygert Owen's fierce drive and pure talent a golden combination". VeloNews.com. June 8, 2017. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  9. ^ "Chloé Dygert". Red Bull. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  10. ^ "Road World Championships: Chloe Dygert has leg surgery after crash". BBC Sport. September 25, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  11. ^ Frattini, Kirsten (September 24, 2020). "Chloe Dygert crashes out of time trial at Imola World Championships". CyclingNews. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  12. ^ Frattini, Kirsten (November 10, 2020). "Chloe Dygert makes surprise transfer to Canyon-SRAM in 2021". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  13. ^ Becerra Jr., John (December 19, 2016). "Owen cycling success 'almost overwhelming'". Kitsap Sun. Brent Morris, Gannett Company. Retrieved January 2, 2018. She also got married to fellow standout pro cyclist and Bremerton native Logan Owen a little over a month ago.
  14. ^ Rogers, Neal (July 23, 2020). "Cyclists Kate Courtney and Chloé Dygert Go for Gold". Red Bull. Red Bull Bulletin. Retrieved September 23, 2020. This past January, the divorce was finalized.
  15. ^ "'I want to be the best in the world' - sitting down with Chloé Dygert". Cycling Weekly. August 2024. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  16. ^ "American Muscle". Redbull. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  17. ^ "Chloe Dygert apologises for social media conduct". cyclingnews.com. November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  18. ^ "Rapha slams Chloé Dygert over social media conduct: 'An apology she issued was not sufficient'". VeloNews.com. November 27, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  19. ^ a b "Chloe Dygert powers to new world record in gold-medal finale". Velonews.com. February 29, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
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