Indeed, Pidcock has won four rounds of the UCI Cyclo-Cross World Cup at under-23 level, and will roll out among the favourites on the tricky Valkenburg course.

Richards, meanwhile, was the first ever under-23 women’s world champion in 2016, before winning bronze in the same event last year. Now the 20-year-old will be bid for a third successive podium finish off the back of winning her first senior World Cup event in Namur in December.

Richards will be joined in the women’s under-23 race by team-mates Hattie Harnden and Anna Kay.

British Cycling’s Matt Ellis said of the selection: “The course is difficult, as you would expect for a world championships. It’s hilly, with a lot of off-camber sections which requires high fitness levels, and it’s grassy and therefore likely to get muddy and slippy which will challenge the riders’ technical abilities.

“Looking at the skillsets of the riders we have selected, the course does suit a lot of our riders’ attributes and I think we can expect some good results, reflective of what we’ve seen from them this season.”

Great Britain team for the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships

Elite men
Ian Field

Elite women
Nikki Brammeier
Beth Crumpton
Helen Wyman

Under-23 men
Tom Pidcock
Dan Tulett
Ben Turner

Under-23 women
Harriet Harnden
Anna Kay
Evie Richards

Junior men
Sean Flynn
Ben Tulett
Jenson Young