Published: Monday 7th October 2024
Images: SWPix
British Cycling can today announce the 23-strong team that will represent Great Britain at the 2024 Tissot UCI Track World Championships from 16-20 October in Ballerup, Denmark.
Heading up the squad in the first event since Great Britain won eight medals on the track at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be Olympic team sprint champions Sophie Capewell, Emma Finucane and Katy Marchant. Finucane will be going into the competition as reigning sprint world champion while Lowri Thomas will join the team in her elite world championships debut.
Seasoned rider and Olympic reserve Joe Truman will lead the men’s squad of Harry Ledingham-Horn and Hayden Norris in their elite debuts. Both riders are stepping up having won silver in the team sprint at this year’s UEC Under-23 European Track Championships, as well as Norris taking gold and silver in the kilo and sprint respectively, while Ledingham-Horn won bronze in the kilo at the same event.
Olympic team pursuit silver medalists Dan Bigham, Ethan Hayter, Charlie Tanfield and Ollie Wood will lead the men’s endurance squad, as Bigham takes to the boards for his last event representing Great Britain, before retiring to take up a full-time role as Head of Engineering with Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe Pro Cycling Team.
Having won team pursuit gold earlier in the season at the Adelaide Tissot Nations Cup, Josh Tarling, Rhys Britton and Josh Charlton will join the charge, with Tarling and Charlton making their elite track world championships debuts.
Olympian and 2023 Madison silver medallist Mark Stewart will join the squad alongside Noah Hobbs who, having had incredible success at the recent under-23 European championships, winning one European title and two silver medals, will represent his country at elite level for the first time.
The women’s endurance squad will be made up of team pursuit Olympic bronze medalists Josie Knight, Anna Morris and Jess Roberts, as well as Olympic reserve Meg Barker.
Great Britain are current world champions in the team pursuit and Katie Archibald will make her return to the track to support their bid of retaining that title after a freak accident saw her severely injure her ankle in June, taking her out of the Paris Olympic Games line up.
Reigning Madison champion and Olympic silver medalist Neah Evans will join the squad in Ballerup, while Sophie Lewis completes the seven-strong team.
Great Britian Cycling Team Performance Director Stephen Park CBE said:
“The world championships after the Olympic Games is always an exciting mix as our Olympic medalists are riding high from a successful Games and will hopefully end the season with some more medals to add to their palmares. While some riders rest after a heavy season, this gives other riders an opportunity to step up and stake a claim for podium squad places and I’m looking forward to seeing how our six debutants relish the challenge of an elite environment.
“Our women’s sprint squad have had an incredible season and it’ll be fantastic if they can carry that form and be the first British team to do the Olympic and world championships double. It’s also great to see Katie Archibald back in elite competition alongside her teammates after a tough summer recovering from injury.”
You can watch the event live on BBC and Discovery+ as well as follow updates on the British Cycling social media channels.
Great Britain Cycling Team squad for the 2024 Tissot UCI Track World Championships:
Women’s Endurance
Katie Archibald
Meg Barker
Neah Evans
Josie Knight
Sophie Lewis
Anna Morris
Jess Roberts
Men’s endurance
Dan Bigham
Rhys Britton
Josh Charlton
Ethan Hayter
Noah Hobbs
Mark Stewart
Charlie Tanfield
Josh Tarling
Ollie Wood
Women’s sprint
Sophie Capewell
Emma Finucane
Katy Marchant
Lowri Thomas
Men’s sprint
Harry Ledingham-Horn
Hayden Norris
Joe Truman
Marcus Hiley (travelling reserve)