The Great Britain Cycling Team’s senior mountain bike squad have landed in South Africa for a training camp as part of their final preparations before the world cup season opener in Stellenbosch, taking place on 10 March.

Annie Last, who last season made history by becoming the first elite British female to medal in a cross-country mountain bike world championships, will be joined by under-23 cyclo-cross world champion Evie Richards, Frazer Clacherty, Dan Tulett and Cameron Orr for the fortnight-long training camp in Western Cape.

Simon Watts, the lead coach for the mountain bike senior programme, said: “The world cup season starts early for us this year, and so the training camp in Western Cape is an opportunity for the riders to fine tune their training and really concentrate on their fitness as we approach the first world cup. Crucially, the time spent in South Africa will allow the riders to acclimatise to the current hot, dry climate ahead of the race.

“Stellenbosch is a new venue for the world cup series, and so our training camp will allow some time for the riders to familiarize themselves with the layout. From research, we expect the course will be fast-flowing with a good mix of stone and rock based features and two main climbs. We’re also expecting the course will be extremely dry and dusty due to the drought South Africa is currently facing.

“Evie and Dan are both arriving at the training camp having enjoyed a successful cyclo-cross season and will be holding racing form from which we can build on. For Annie, Frazer and Cam, we will use the training camp as their final preparations as we look to start the 2018 world cup season on the front foot.”

Great Britain Cycling Team programme riders for Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Stellenbosch

Elite women

Annie Last (riding for KMC-EKOI-SRSUNTOUR)

Under-23 women

Evie Richards (riding for Trek Factory Racing)

Under-23 men

Frazer Clacherty (riding for OMX Pro Team)
Dan Tulett
Cameron Orr