Great Britain announces Worlds pre-selection

British Cycling has announced a long list of twelve riders for the world championships road race in Copenhagen later this month.

Mark Cavendish will lead the squad, and thanks to Great Britain’s high placement in the UCI WorldTour rankings, the Manxman will have seven teammates to support him in Denmark, up five from last year.

As expected, Sky riders dominate the pre-selection, with Vuelta a España protagonists Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome included, along with Geraint Thomas, Alex Dowsett, Peter Kennaugh, Ian Stannard, Ben Swift, Jeremy Hunt and Steve Cummings. Garmin-Cervélo duo David Millar and Dan Lloyd round out the pre-selection.

“We are heading to the road Worlds with serious aspirations this year,” British Cycling Performance Director Dave Brailsford said. "This is the biggest team we've taken to a road world championships, demonstrating the continuous progression of road racing in the UK.”

Also team principal of Team Sky, Brailsford is pleased with the role that the WorldTour outfit is playing in the development of young talent. “It's great to see the positive impact that Team Sky has had on young developing riders, with Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome, Pete Kennaugh and Alex Dowsett all being long-listed.”

Dowsett is also included on the three-man time trial pre-selection, along with Millar and Wiggins, with two riders set to be selected for the Worlds.

Nicole Cooke, Emma Pooley and Lizzie Armitstead are among the nine riders listed in the pre-selection for the women’s road race, where Britain will have seven berths. Pooley is also on the time trial long list, along with Sharon Laws and Julia Shaw.

The British teams for the world championships are expected to be confirmed in the next week.

Pre-selection for Great Britain world championships team:

Elite Men's Road Race (Eight places)
Mark Cavendish, Steve Cummings, Alex Dowsett, Chris Froome, Jeremy Hunt, Pete Kennaugh, Dan Lloyd, David Millar, Ian Stannard, Ben Swift, Geraint Thomas, Bradley Wiggins

Elite Men's Time Trial (Two places)
Alex Dowsett, David Millar, Bradley Wiggins

Elite Women's Road Race (Seven places)
Lizzie Armitstead, Katie Colclough, Nicole Cooke, Catherine Hare, Nikki Harris, Sharon Laws, Lucy Martin, Emma Pooley, Emma Trott

Elite Women's Time Trial (Three places)
Sharon Laws, Emma Pooley, Julia Shaw