British Cycling has named the riders that will represent the Great Britain Cycling Team at the final round of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Hong Kong from 16-17 January.
The final major event before the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in London in March sees a strong squad selected, with Mark Cavendish picked to represent Great Britain on the track for the first time since the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships.
Cavendish, who heads up a youthful men’s endurance squad with senior academy riders, Matt Gibson, Chris Latham, Oliver Wood and Germain Burton also travelling, will make his return in the omnium as he begins a year which he hopes will see him win the Olympic medal that has previously eluded him.
Cavendish said: “It will be my first world cup on the track for a lot of years I think so I’m looking forward to it.
"I’m used to doing more events at a world cup, the Madison, the scratch, and now just doing the omnium is a little bit different from what I’m used to, but I’m super looking forward to it.”
Laura Trott, Elinor Barker, Ciara Horne and Joanna Rowsell Shand all return after missing the second round of the series, and are joined by senior academy rider Emily Nelson, who rides in her second event at this level after making her debut in New Zealand. Katie Archibald misses out with a knee injury.
Full strength sprint squads will continue their hunt for Olympic qualification points with Becky James selected for back-to-back world cups alongside Katy Marchant and Jess Varnish, while three-time Olympic gold medallist Jason Kenny heads up a men’s team that includes Philip Hindes, Callum Skinner and Matt Crampton.
Great Britain Cycling Team, technical director, Shane Sutton, said: “Having a rider of Mark Cavendish’s stature in the squad is a great boost for everyone. What he has achieved throughout his career is phenomenal and the only thing he is missing is an Olympic medal.
"He is really hungry and selection for Hong Kong is the first step along the path to achieving his goal.
“It’s the first event of a vital year for the team and the squad we have selected reflects that.
“We still need Olympic qualification points, particularly in the sprint events, while it is also great to see a strong presence from our Senior Academy in the team once again.
“A lot of eyes will now be looking towards Rio but we also have the incentive of a home track world championships in London in two months’ time. Selection for that event is just around the corner so it’s important that the riders perform well in Hong Kong.”
Great Britain Cycling Team for UCI Track Cycling World Cup Hong Kong
Elinor Barker
Germain Burton
Mark Cavendish
Matt Crampton
Matt Gibson
Philip Hindes
Ciara Horne
Becky James
Jason Kenny
Chris Latham
Katy Marchant
Emily Nelson
Joanna Rowsell Shand
Callum Skinner
Laura Trott
Jess Varnish
Ollie Wood
