Four newly-crowned national champions are among fourteen riders selected by British Cycling to represent Great Britain at the UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships in Belgium, at the end of the month.
Senior men’s champion, Ian Field, women’s champion, Helen Wyman, under-23 men’s champion, Steve James,and junior champion, Hugo Robinson, will all race at the meeting in Koksijde on January 28 and 29.
- New national cyclo-cross champion, Ian Field, will lead the men’s team
National Trophy Series leader, Paul Oldham, and his closest rival in the season-long series, Jody Crawforth, will join Field in the three-strong elite men’s team.
Wyman will race alongside regular UCI World Cup rivals, Nikki Harris and Gaby Day, and Annie Last, who rode to third at last Sunday’s national championship race at Ipswich despite starting near the back of the grid.
- Seven-time national champion, Helen Wyman, will lead the women’s team
Team Manager Phil Dixon said he was looking forward to seeing Field and Wyman lead the GB team, and praised the women’s line-up.
“I think this year is the strongest the women’s team in particular has been, and I believe they are in a good position to challenge for the podium,” he said.
Another newly-crowned national champion, Steve James, will lead the U23 team, and will be joined by Kenta Gallagher, who finished second to James at Ispwich, Luke Gray, who was fourth, and Jake Clarkson.
The junior team has been chosen from the top three finishers at last weekend’s nationals, and includes national champion, Hugo Robinson, runner-up Alex Wellburn, and bronze medalist, Joe Moses.
“For the younger riders, this is the second year of British Cycling’s Cyclo-Cross Development Plan and we’ve got four U23 and three Junior men who will make the start line. I think these guys will put on a good show and I’m looking forward to seeing them push closer to a podium finish at these World Championships,” said Dixon.
