A 12-strong Great Britain Cycling Team squad will travel to Bieles in Luxembourg for the 2017 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships on 28-29 January.
Rainbow stripes are up for grabs in five races, with Evie Richards looking to retain the under-23 women’s title she won in Belgium in 2016.
The team
Elite men
National champion Ian Field will head to Luxembourg full of confidence after victory at the 2017 HSBC UK | National Cyclo-cross Championships in Bradford.
The 30-year-old won back his title earlier this month to become a five-time British champion, adding to his National Trophy Series victory late last year.
Field will look to improve on his 28th place finish at Heusden-Zolder last year with defending world champion Wout Van Aert the favourite to retain his title.
Elite women
Great Britain Cycling Team has three entries in the elite women’s race, with Nikki Brammeier representing Britain’s best chance of a medal in Luxembourg.
The 30-year-old retained her British title at Peel Park with a dominant performance in the Bradford mud and followed that up with 12th and 11th place in the final two rounds of the Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup.
The world championships will also see a return to elite action for nine-time British champion Helen Wyman.
Wyman broke her collarbone on international duty at the European championships last year, missing out on both the National Trophy Series and National Cyclo-cross Championships and will be keen to make up for lost time in Bieles and heads to the world championships boosted by a 20th place finish at the final round of the Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup
The British trio is rounded off by National Trophy Series winner Hannah Payton, who won four out of five rounds in a dominant domestic performance in 2016. Payton, who finished 12th in the under-23 women’s race at the 2016 world championships, makes her first step up to the elite event this year.
Under-23 men
Fresh from double success on domestic duty this season, Billy Harding heads to Luxembourg looking to transfer his form to the international stage.
In Bradford, 20-year old Harding added the under-23 men’s national championship to his National Trophy Series victory – a series in which he won four out of five races.
His victory at Peel Park was even more impressive given the Yorkshire rider had been ill in the run up to the National Cyclo-cross Championships – and a fully recuperated Harding will be keen to make an impression in Bieles.
Under 23-women
Evie Richards made history at last year’s world championships as she became the first ever under-23 women’s world cyclo-cross champion.
That performance in Zolder earned her a first set of rainbow stripes and also won her the prestigious British Cycling Ride of the Year award.
The Malvern teenager heads to Luxembourg on the back of another breakout year, having made the step up to world elite level in this season’s Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup – but will return to the under-23 ranks in a bid to retain her world title.
She heads to Bieles in form, having dominated in Bradford to successfully defend her British title earlier this month before finishing a world cup career high of sixth at the final round in Hoogerheide.
Richards is joined by Amira Mellor and Ffion James in the under-23 women’s race, who won silver and bronze respectively in the National Cyclo-cross Championships.
Junior men
There is perhaps no British rider in better form heading to the world championships than Tom Pidcock.
The junior rider is looking to complete a sensational hat-trick, having already claimed both the European and British junior cyclo-cross titles this season, as well as winning twice at this season's world cup, including the final round in Hoogerheide.
Pidcock was unfortunate to miss out on a medal at last year’s UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, finishing in fifth after crashing several times but will be hopeful of reaching the podium in Luxembourg.
The 17-year-old from Leeds is joined in the junior men’s race by Thomas Mein, Daniel Tullett and Ben Turner.
Great Britain Cycling Team for 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships
Elite men
Ian Field
Elite women
Nikki Brammeier
Hannah Payton
Helen Wyman
Under-23 men
Billy Harding
Under-23 women
Ffion James
Amira Mellor
Evie Richards
Junior men
Thomas Mein
Tom Pidcock
Daniel Tullet
Ben Turner
The venue
The championships will be held in Bieles, in the south-west of Luxembourg. The town has an approximate population of 5,000 and racing will be held on a constructed course near to the University of Luxembourg campus featuring elevation changes, off-camber sections and a technical stair-like section made from logs.
The schedule
(All times are GMT)
Saturday 28 January
10:00am – Junior men
12:00pm – Under-23 women
2:00pm – Elite women
Sunday 29 January
10:00am – Under-23 men
2:00pm – Elite men
How to follow the racing
- Watch live coverage online of all five races
- A report, results, reaction and images will appear on the British Cycling website
- Follow @BritishCycling on Twitter for updates
