British Cycling has announced a list of possible riders who will support Mark Cavendish in his bid for gold at the UCI Road Cycling World Championships in Copenhagen later this month. Vuelta a España revelation Chris Froome has been included on the long list of twelve, along with Bradley Wiggins and David Millar.
Great Britain qualifies eight starters for this year’s event in contrast to only starting three in Geelong last year. Cavendish, who won five stages and the green jersey at this year’s Tour de France, is expected to lead the team with the course suiting his capabilities. As the worlds is undoubtedly one of the toughest races of the year, he’ll need a strong team though to keep everything together for a sprint finish.
“This is the biggest team we’ve taken to a Road World Championships demonstrating the continuous progression of road racing in the UK,” said British Cycling Performance Director Dave Brailsford.
“It’s great to see the positive impact that Team Sky has had on young developing riders, with Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome, Pete Kennaugh and Alex Dowsett all being long-listed.
“We are heading to the Road Worlds with serious aspirations this year. The long-listed team will be narrowed down over the next week, and everyone on the team – both riders and support staff – is excited about the event.”
Three riders have been announced for the time trial but only two will start the individual event. Great Britain is known for developing strong riders against the clock and there’s sure to be fierce competition among Wiggins, Millar and Dowsett for the final two spots.
In the woman’s event, current Olympic Champion Nicole Cooke has been named on the long list for the road team while defending World Time Trial Champion Emma Pooley could do both the road and time trial events.
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Long list for road world championships (September 19 – 25, Denmark):
Elite Men’s Road Race (Eight places)
Mark Cavendish
Steve Cummings
Alex Dowsett
Chris Froome
Jeremy Hunt
Pete Kennaugh
Dan Lloyd
David Millar
Ian Stannard
Ben Swift
Geraint Thomas
Bradley Wiggins
Elite Men’s Time Trial (Two places)
Alex Dowsett
David Millar
Bradley Wiggins
Elite Women’s Road Race (Seven places)
Lizzie Armitstead
Katie Colclough
Nicole Cooke
Catherine Hare
Nikki Harris
Sharon Laws
Lucy Martin
Emma Pooley
Emma Trott
Elite Women’s Time Trial (Three places)
Sharon Laws
Emma Pooley
Julia Shaw