Sir Dave Brailsford believes Great Britain are in a good position as they build towards Rio 2016 after British Cycling announced their squad for the 2013/14 funding year.
In the first year post-London 2012, Great Britain have enjoyed a successful transitional period which saw five new world champions crowned: Welsh sprint queen Becky James, team pursuit star Elinor Barker, Tour of Britain stage winner Simon Yates, BMX ace Liam Phillips and para-cyclist Lora Turnham, piloted by Corinne Hall.
And performance manager Brailsford believes the squad is in good shape as they bid to recreate their London success in Rio in three years time.
He said: “I believe we have a strong squad to take us into the second year of this Olympic cycle.
“In all, I think we’re looking to be in good shape for this stage of the Olympic cycle. We have a real depth of talent in the academy and development programme and I’m looking forward to seeing how they can develop and deliver over the coming twelve months.”
Among the riders named, former sprinter Ross Edgar has switched to the endurance squad having spent last season competing on the road with IG Sigma Sport – who announced this week they will not race next year.
Brailsford will watch with interest to see how Scottish star Edgar – who won a silver medal in the keirin behind Sir Chris Hoy at the Beijing Olympic Games – will develop in his new role.
Mark Cavendish, Sir Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas are also included in a star-studded squad, while former heptathlete Katy Marchant and junior track star Danni Khan are among the new faces on the programme having joined the sprint squads.
Meanwhile, promising talent Tao Geoghagen Hart, who will ride for the Bissell development team in 2014, has left the programme, although Brailsford insists he will keep “a close eye on him”.
The review of the British Cycling Olympic programmes is in line with the UK Sport funding structure and also sees the inclusion of a new Paralympic Development Programme for upcoming para-cyclist.
Brailsford added: “This is a great step forward for para-cycling in Britain as we now have a process in place to identify and progress disabled athletes with a talent for cycling.”
Pictures supplied with kind permission of www.SWpixcyclingphotos.com.
Great Britain cycling team squad for 2013/14
Olympic podium programme
Men’s sprint
Matt Crampton
Kian Emadi
Phil Hindes
Jason Kenny
Lewis Oliva
Callum Skinner
Women’s sprint:
Becky James
Katy Marchant
Jess Varnish
Vicky Williamson
Men’s endurance
Steven Burke
Mark Cavendish
Ed Clancy
Steve Cummings
Jon Dibben
Alex Dowsett
Ross Edgar
Josh Edmondson
Andy Fenn
Chris Froome
Sam Harrison
Pete Kennaugh
Luke Rowe
Ian Stannard
Ben Swift
Andy Tennant
Geraint Thomas
Sir Bradley Wiggins
Adam Yates
Simon Yates
Women’s endurance
Lizzie Armitstead
Elinor Barker
Dani King
Joanna Rowsell
Laura Trott
Men’s BMX
Liam Phillips
Women’s Cross Country Mountain Bike
Annie Last
Olympic academy programme
Men’s sprint
Matt Rotherham
Women’s sprint
Rosie Blount
Danni Khan
Women’s endurance
Katie Archibald
Lucy Garner
Amy Hill
Hayley Jones
Emily Kay
Amy Roberts
Men’s endurance
Germain Burton
Owain Doull
Chris Latham
Chris Lawless
Jacob Ragan
Oliver Wood
Men’s BMX
Kyle Evans
Grant Hill
Curtis Manaton
Tre Whyte
Women’s BMX
Charlotte Green
Abbie Taylor
Men’s Cross Country Mountain Bike
Kenta Gallagher
Grant Ferguson
Women’s Cross Country Mountain Bike
Alice Barnes
Bethany Crumpton
Olympic development programme
Men’s endurance
Matthew Bostock
Gabriel Cullaigh
Joe Evans
Joseph Fry
Matthew Gibson
Joe Holt
Ellis Kirkbride
Women’s endurance
Megan Barker
Abigail Dentus
Grace Garner
Bethany Hayward
Melissa Lowther
Emily Nelson
Abby-Mae Parkinson
Lucy Shaw
Men’s sprint
Leon Gledhill
Thomas Scammell
Joseph Truman
Women’s sprint
Sophie Capewell
Men’s BMX
Quillan Isidore
Paddy Sharrock
Ryan Stack
Women’s BMX
Valerie Zebrokova
Men’s Cross Country Mountain Bike
Frazer Clacherty
Thomas Craig
Dylan Kerfoot Robson
Mark McGuire
Calum Moagowan
Women’s Cross Country Mountain Bike
Martha Gill
Ffion James
Paralympic programmes
Paralympic Podium Programme
Jon Allan Butterworth
Jody Cundy
Karen Darke
Neil Fachie
Corinne Hall
Rachel James
Darren Kenny
Crystal Lane
Craig MacLean
Shaun McKeown
Pete Mitchell
Rachel Morris
Jason Queally
Helen Scott
David Stone
Dame Sarah Storey
Lauryn Therin
Lora Turnham
Paralympic Academy Programme
Brian Alldis
Rhiannon Henry
Simon Price
Sophie Thornhill
Paralympic Development Programme
Steve Arnold
Megan Boyd
Justin Davies
Matt Ellis
Andy Kelsey
Jaco van Gass
Jonathan Wren
