British Cycling has today confirmed that Shanaze Reade has withdrawn from the forthcoming UCI BMX World Championships, which are scheduled to take place in Auckland from 24 - 28 July.

Shanaze sustained a knee injury after falling during a training camp in Papendal in June.

Great Britain Cycling Team’s physiotherapist Phil Burt explains: “Shanaze has worked hard to recover from her recent knee injury but unfortunately time has run out for her to be in competitive form at the World Championships.”

Speaking of the decision, Shanaze said: "Having won every major race this year I was confident and excited to race in New Zealand, this was one of my biggest goals for 2013. To miss out on the World Championships is really disappointing.

“However, my team and I believe this is definitely the correct decision. It will be a short period of recovery and the plan is to come back stronger for the rest of the year."