British Cycling has named the six under-23 male endurance riders who will represent Great Britain at the prestigious Tour de l’Avenir, taking place from the 18 - 27 August in France.

National under-23 road race champion Chris Lawless and national under-23 time trial champion Scott Davies are both included in the squad for the nine-stage, ten-day race which is dubbed as the under-23 Tour de France for future stars.

Senior academy endurance rider Jacob Hennessey, winner of the under-23 Gent-Wevelgem Nations Cup round and James Knox who finished in second place at Liege – Bastogne – Liege earlier this year will take to the start line, as will British Cycling’s podium programme riders Mark Stewart and Ollie Wood, both of whom enjoyed a successful 2016/17 season on the track and with Wood taking a win on the road at the Ryedale Grand Prix over the weekend.

Senior academy men’s endurance coach Keith Lambert said: “The Tour de L’Avenir, or the ‘Tour of the Future’ as it translates to, attracts the world’s best development riders and is a big target for us on the racing calendar.

“This will be the first time Jacob and Ollie have competed in this race and it will be beneficial for them as bike riders to experience a race of this calibre. 

“The race will be challenging, with the route covering a distance of 1,201km including 16,673 metres of climbing, and as such it offers learning opportunities to the team in terms of race preparation and recovery, as well as an opportunity to race against the best riders in the world within their age group.

“The six riders we are entering into this race have all displayed impressive results this year and head to Brittany in great form. I’ll be looking for the team to work together and support each other throughout the race whilst also targeting stage results along the way.”

Great Britain Cycling Team for the Tour de l’Avenir

Scott Davies
Jacob Hennessy
James Knox
Chris Lawless
Mark Stewart
Ollie Wood