The riders who had gained a highly sought after place on the Australian team for a home UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong were expected to be announced on Tuesday though with two selection appeals, that are still to be heard, the announcement has been delayed.
"The UCI Road World Championships is a pinnacle event in the racing calendar and competition for places in our team is strong," AusCycling Executive General Manager of Performance, Jesse Korf said in a statement. "Two athletes have appealed, as is their right, and we will give the process the time it needs."
‘’We anticipate an announcement on the Australian team for the Championships to be made next week."
Athletes were notified of the team selections by August 17, with the deadline for appeals to be lodged two days later and hearings to be scheduled in the week of August 22 ahead of a planned final team announcement originally scheduled for August 23. The statement said the appeals would be considered by an independent arbitrator over the next few days. The names of those riders appealing was not given.
It certainly is not the first time Australian riders have lodged an appeal of the team selection, among them being Rachel Neylan and Chloe Hosking's successful appeal of the 2017 Bergen World Championships team, which initially left two places in the women's squad unfilled.
The competition for slots has been particularly intense this year, given that it is a rare home World Championships for Australian riders. The 2022 Road World Championships marks only the second time the event has been held in the nation, the first was in Geelong in 2010. It also marks the return of international top-level cycling in Australia after the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting border closures lead to a cancellation of the Santos Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race for two years running.
Most of the racing will start and finish in the coastal city of Wollongong, in New South Wales, with the exceptions being the elite road races which start in the small hamlet of Helensburgh and take the race on a sweep via the coast before moving into circuits radiating out from Wollongong.
The technical time trial course delivers short rises and plenty of bends, while the road race packs in plenty of vertical ascent across a series of short climbs, culminating with Mount Pleasant. The 1.1km climb with an average gradient of 7.7% and a maximum of 14% is located on the finishing circuit, which the elite/U23 women will be looping through six times while the elite men tackle it 12 times.
