British Cycling has today announced the squad of 22 riders who will line-up to represent the Great Britain Cycling Team at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships presented by Tissot in Pruszków, Poland, taking place from 27th February to 3rd March 2019.
Reigning world champions Katie Archibald, Ed Clancy, Kian Emadi, Ethan Hayter, Emily Nelson and Charlie Tanfield have all made selection for this year’s team and will be in the hunt for more rainbow jerseys to add to their collection. Olympic stars Elinor Barker, Phil Hindes, Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katy Marchant have also been selected.
Vicky Williamson has fought her way back from a potentially career-ending injury sustained in 2016 and will once again represent the Great Britain Cycling Team at world championship level, having won bronze in the team sprint with Becky James in 2013. Senior academy rider Matt Walls makes his world championship debut having impressed selectors throughout the track season while non-programme rider John Archibald is also set to make his debut having posted the sea-level world record in the individual pursuit last month.
Performance director Stephen Park OBE said: “Track cycling in this country continues to become more competitive, and there’s a real sense of everyone ramping up their efforts as we head towards Tokyo 2020. This made for some difficult decisions for our selection panel but puts us in a good place at this stage of the Olympic cycle where our focus is narrowing in on Tokyo.
“The women’s endurance riders have remained prominent throughout the world cup series, demonstrating continuity in their performances and development. We have real versatility within the squad, with riders showing they have the physical ability and skill to be competitive across the Olympic events.
“In the men’s endurance squad, we have three-time Olympic champion Ed Clancy, who brings years of experience to the group, mixed with the enthusiasm of Matt Walls and John Archibald who are set to compete at their first elite world championship event. The men’s endurance riders have also been medal competitive in the Olympic events, and what gives me real confidence is the senior academy riders stepping up at the London world cup, showing we have the talent coming through along the pathway.
“The men’s sprint squad are on an upwards trajectory and it’s been encouraging to see their performances over the year. In the team sprint, Great Britain reached the podium in three out of the four world cups they attended, and it was fantastic to see six-time Olympic champion Jason Kenny back on the top of the podium in Canada where he won the keirin.
“On the women’s sprint squad, it was a real boost to see Katy Marchant on the podium in New Zealand, taking silver in the keirin, and I’m thrilled to be able to welcome Vicky back to the squad after a challenging couple of years. Looking at the bigger picture, it feels like momentum is building within the women’s sprint squad with a much wider pool of talent becoming available to us, as we saw at the Nationals last month. This is testament to the focus we’ve put into the women’s sprint squad pathway and I’m looking forward to seeing how that develops.
“Overall, I am pleased with the progress we’ve made this year, but that comes with an awareness that other nations are also making progress. The world championships in Pruszków will be a true indicator of where we measure against the rest of the world and I know the team is looking forward to making the most of the opportunity and being able to start fine-tuning our work ahead of Tokyo.”
Vicky Williamson said: “Competing for Great Britain at this level again was my clear focus during my two years of rehab, and I’ve been overwhelmed by how much support I’ve had. I competed in the team sprint with Katy Marchant at the Hong Kong round of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup series, but I didn’t put in the performance I know I’m capable of and that allowed me to take away some valuable learnings around how I execute a race.
“I’m over the moon to be selected for the world championships and I’m going to put everything into these next few weeks of preparations.”
The Great Britain Cycling Team for the 2019 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Pruszków:
Men’s Endurance
John Archibald (28, Milngavie)
Ed Clancy (33, Huddersfield)
Kian Emadi (26, Stoke-on-Trent)
Ethan Hayter (20, London)
Mark Stewart (23, Dundee)
Charlie Tanfield (22, Great Ayton)
Matt Walls (20, Oldham)
Ollie Wood (23, Wakefield)
Women’s Endurance
Katie Archibald (24, Milngavie)
Elinor Barker (24, Cardiff)
Ellie Dickinson (20, Carlisle)
Neah Evans (28, Aberdeen)
Laura Kenny (26, Cheshunt)
Emily Nelson (22, Lichfield)
Men’s Sprint
Jack Carlin (21, Paisley)
Phil Hindes (26, Krefeld)
Jason Kenny (30, Bolton)
Ryan Owens (23, Milton Keynes)
Joe Truman (21, Petersfield)
Women’s Sprint
Lauren Bate (19, St Helens)
Katy Marchant (26, Leeds)
Vicky Williamson (25, Norwich)
