No fewer than 10 Scottish riders have been picked to ride for Great Britain at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy, at the end of the month.

Taking place from 25-29 August, the global championships will see rainbow jerseys awarded in the XC, Downhill, Four-Cross and E-MTB disciplines, with Reece Wilson looking to defend the Downhill title he won in Leogang last year.

Starting with the cross country races, which will see former World Junior champion Charlie Aldridge go for glory in the U23 race, there will be a plenty of chances of Scottish success at the famous alpine venue. Aldridge will be joined by Isla Short, who raced to a outstanding fifth place finish in an extremely muddy senior women’s race 12 months ago, as well as Corran Carrick-Anderson and Elena McGorum who will contest the junior races.

Sticking with the junior events, Phoebe Gale has enjoyed a wonderful year on the downhill circuit, winning her maiden World Cup in some style back in June – she backed that up with victory in Maribor this weekend, so keep your eyes out for the junior women’s race in Val di Sole. On the men’s side Ryan Brannen and William Brodie have both been  rewarded for their consistently strong form with GB call ups of their own.

As already mentioned, Reece Wilson will head to the Italian town on a mission to defend his stripes, and will be joined in the senior men’s race by Greg Williamson. In the women’s equivalent, Mikayla Parton will also have high hopes as one of the four Brits selected.

On the Scottish contingent, Scottish Cycling MTB Coach, Paul Newnham, said:

“To have 10 Scots on the team heading for Italy is a fantastic achievement and testament to all the hard work that has continued to go on behind the scenes during a testing 18 months. Last year Scottish riders enjoyed unrivalled success, notably with Reece taking the downhill world title, and I have every confidence we’ll have plenty more to shout about at the 2021 edition.”