British Cycling has today confirmed the squad of 34 riders who will represent the Great Britain Cycling Team at the UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria from 23rd – 30th September.
Simon Yates, the current leader of the Vuelta a Espana, and his twin brother Adam have made selection for the elite men’s road race, as have Ian Stannard, winner of stage seven of this year’s Tour of Britain, and reigning national champion Connor Swift. Hugh Carthy, Pete Kennaugh, Tao Geoghagen Hart and James Knox complete the team, while Tao and Alex Dowsett will represent Great Britain in the time trial event.
In the elite women’s road race, Commonwealth Games 2018 road race bronze medalist Dani Rowe will line up alongside Hannah Barnes, Dani Christmas, Alice Cobb, Anna Henderson and Sophie Wright. In the time trial, Commonwealth Games 2018 time trial bonze Hayley Simmonds and Alice Barnes will take to the start-line.
Team pursuit world champions Ethan Hayter and Charlie Tanfield will represent Great Britain in the under-23 men’s time trial, with Hayter also selected for the road race. He will be joined by Mark Donovan, James Shaw, Max Stedman and Steven Williams.
In the junior races, Ben Tulett, the reigning junior cyclo-cross world champion, is amongst those selected for the men’s team and will represent Great Britain in both the road race and the time trial events. Pfeiffer Georgi, who won two rounds of this year’s UCI Women’s Junior Nations’ Cup series, is set to compete in the road race and the time trial.
Performance director Stephen Park said: “British riders have exceled themselves on the road this season at all levels and it’s been a pleasure to watch them in action.
“We’ve selected a strong team to take on this year’s world championships, and there’s a lot of talent within the squad. It’s great to see so many WorldTour riders on our start list but equally, it shows what a great place we are in as a nation to be able to give riders such as Hugh Carthy, Connor Swift, Dani Christmas, Alice Cobb and Anna Henderson the opportunity to make their debut appearance at world championship level for the Great Britain Cycling Team.
“Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas are obvious omissions from the men’s team, and this was a decision we made mutually. Given the challenging nature of the course, we want every rider selected to be able to give their 100% to the team, and on the back of what has been an incredible season for both G and Froomey, it’s understandable they are unable to commit to this.
“I’m looking for us to carry on the momentum of this season into Innsbruck and I’m expecting to see some good performances in each race. We can then build on this in 2019 when the world championships come to Yorkshire and we can look forward to competing on our home roads.”
Great Britain Cycling Team for UCI Road World Championships 2018:
Elite Men’s Road Race:
Hugh Carthy
Tao Geoghegan Hart
Pete Kennaugh
James Knox
Ian Stannard
Connor Swift
Adam Yates
Simon Yates
Elite Men’s Time Trial:
Alex Dowsett
Tao Geoghagen Hart
Elite Women’s Road Race
Hannah Barnes
Dani Christmas
Alice Cobb
Anna Henderson
Dani Rowe
Sophie Wright
Elite Women’s Time Trial
Alice Barnes
Hayley Simmonds
Under-23 Men’s Road Race
Mark Donovan
Ethan Hayter
James Shaw
Max Stedman
Stephen Williams
Under 23 Men’s Time Trial
Ethan Hayter
Charlie Tanfield
Junior Men’s Road Race
Lewis Askey
Alfie George
Mason Hollyman
Ben Tulett
Sam Watson
Junior Men’s Time Trial
Joe Laverick
Ben Tulett
Junior Women’s Road Race
Elynor Backstedt
Pfeiffer Georgi
Amy Monkhouse
Amelia Sharpe
April Tacey
Junior Women’s Time Trial
Pfeiffer Georgi
Elynor Backstedt
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