Follow britishcycling.org.uk on  

Team Wales for Commonwealth Games

Story posted July 20;
               
The Commonwealth Games Council for Wales (CGCW) have announced the cycling line-up for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games (3-14 October).

It is the largest ever cycling team to be fielded by Wales at a Commonwealth Games. All eyes will be on the road races as Geraint Thomas and Nicole Cooke will both be gunning to feature on the Delhi podium. Four years ago, at just 20, Thomas stormed to bronze in the points race in the Velodrome. Since then, he has appeared in two Tours de France and claimed Olympic gold in Beijing. But Thomas’ medal mission will be restricted to just the road in Delhi as a scheduling clash with the World Road Race Championships in Melbourne means he won’t make it to the Indian capital in time for the track events.

Nicole Cooke will be aiming to make it third time lucky in Delhi though she too will be making her way from Melbourne. She has twice featured on the Commonwealth Games rostrum, having claimed the top spot in Manchester 2002 and the bronze position four years ago in Melbourne. But Cooke and Thomas are not the only names to note. The duo will lead a team of bright prospects including double World Junior Track Cycling Champion Becky James and professional road racer Rob Partridge.

Team Manager Gareth Sheppard is confident that the team will deliver in Delhi: “After the recent strong performances from Welsh riders in both national and international competition, the team had pretty much selected itself, though we still had a couple of tough decisions to make, especially with the men’s road team.  All the riders selected have the ability to deliver some very strong performances at these Commonwealth Games."

“Most of the riders selected will still be medal contenders in both 2014 and 2018, so the future really does look bright for Welsh Cycling.”

Team Wales Chef de Mission, Chris Jenkins, said: “This is the largest cycling team that Wales has ever fielded at a Commonwealth Games. Team Wales is obviously very proud of well known riders like Nicole Cooke and Geraint Thomas but we’re also really excited about some of the new faces in the team who I am sure will be household names of the future.”

The team is:

Jessica Allen
Rhys Lloyd
Yanto Barker
Angharad Mason
Kara Chesworth
Lily Matthews
Paul Esposti
Jon Mould
Nicole Cooke
Lewis Oliva
Alexandra Greenfield
Rob Partridge
Sam Harrison
Hannah Rich
Becky James
Luke Rowe
Geraint Thomas

Team Manager: Gareth Sheppard
Coach: Darren Tudor