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Froome and Thomas sit out World Championships as Yates twins lead British challenge in elite men's road race

British Cycling names final squads for all races at Innsbruck-Tirol later this month

British Cycling has this morning confirmed the team that will represent Great Britain at the UCI road world championships in Innsbruck/Tirol later this month. With Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome missing, Simon Yates – currently leading the Vuelta – and his twin brother Adam will spearhead the country’s challenge in the men’s elite road race.

Tour de France winner Thomas and Giro d’Italia champion Froome, who finished third in France, have been ruled out of selection by mutual agreement with British Cycling given that hey will not be at peak fitness for the Worlds

Th3e Yates twins will be joined in Austria by Ian Stannard, Connor Swift. Hugh Carthy, Pete Kennaugh, Tao Geoghagen Hart and James Knox.

Geoghegan Hart and Alex Dowsett take the two slots in the elite men’s time trial.

Dani Rowe, who won bronze in the Commonwealth Games earlier this year, rides in the women’s elite road race alongside Hannah Barnes, Dani Christmas, Alice Cobb, Anna Henderson and Sophie Wright.

Hayley Simmonds and Alice Barnes will ride the elite women’s time trial.

The under-23 men’s individual time trial sees team pursuit world champions Ethan Hayter and Charlie Tanfield take to the road, while the under-23 road race features Hayter plus Mark Donovan, James Shaw, Max Stedman and Steven Williams.

Junior cyclo-cross world champion Ben Tullett rides both the men’s junior time trial and road race while Pfeffer George, who this year wan two races in this year’s UCI Women’s Junior Nations’ Cup, will compete in the junior women’s versions.

British Cycling Performance director Stephen Park said: “British riders have excelled themselves on the road this season at all levels and it’s been a pleasure to watch them in action.

“We’ve selected a strong team to take on this year’s world championships, and there’s a lot of talent within the squad. It’s great to see so many WorldTour riders on our start list but equally, it shows what a great place we are in as a nation to be able to give riders such as Hugh Carthy, Connor Swift, Dani Christmas, Alice Cobb and Anna Henderson the opportunity to make their debut appearance at world championship level for the Great Britain Cycling Team.

“Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas are obvious omissions from the men’s team, and this was a decision we made mutually. Given the challenging nature of the course, we want every rider selected to be able to give their 100 per cent to the team, and on the back of what has been an incredible season for both G and Froomey, it’s understandable they are unable to commit to this.”

He added: “I’m looking for us to carry on the momentum of this season into Innsbruck and I’m expecting to see some good performances in each race. We can then build on this in 2019 when the world championships come to Yorkshire and we can look forward to competing on our home roads.”

The 2018 UCI Road World Championships take place from 22-30 September and you can find full information on the event website here.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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12 comments

Avatar
Mr Ridley1961 | 6 years ago
1 like

I thought Tom Pidcock might of got a shout on the road race..

 

Avatar
J90 replied to Mr Ridley1961 | 6 years ago
1 like

Mr Ridley1961 wrote:

I thought Tom Pidcock might of got a shout on the road race..

 

 

Completely wrong course for him. It maybe would've been right for G or Froome, but I guess they aren't too bothered about a shot at the rainbow jersey.

Avatar
HarrogateSpa | 6 years ago
4 likes

The article would benefit from a read-through by the author, to tidy up one or two little typos.

Avatar
joules1975 replied to HarrogateSpa | 6 years ago
1 like

HarrogateSpa wrote:

The article would benefit from a read-through by the author, to tidy up one or two little typos.

Nothing new there for road.cc.

Avatar
Simon E replied to joules1975 | 6 years ago
0 likes

Nixster wrote:

Not sure how Froome and Thomas are going to be more tired than Simon Yates after he's finished off the Vuelta (hopefully in the red jersey, fingers crossed)...

They're both some way past their peak.

OTOH Yates has had a quiet time since the Giro and has stated that he came into the Vuelta "undercooked" so that he's good in the last week but also on song for the Worlds, on a course that really suits him.

I hope Pete K rides well after a frustrating year.

joules1975 wrote:

HarrogateSpa wrote:

The article would benefit from a read-through by the author, to tidy up one or two little typos.

Nothing new there for road.cc.

It afflicts virtually every website I visit. In days gone by they would have been written by journalists who took pride in the standard of their written work.

no

Now every tw@t with a smartphone and Instagram thinks he/she is a journalist, a pro-level photographer and a sage dispensing great wisdom.

But consider how much we pay for the content: £0. That's what it's worth. [shrug]

Avatar
Nixster | 6 years ago
1 like

Not sure how Froome and Thomas are going to be more tired than Simon Yates after he's finished off the Vuelta (hopefully in the red jersey, fingers crossed)...

Avatar
peted76 replied to Nixster | 6 years ago
1 like

Nixster wrote:

Not sure how Froome and Thomas are going to be more tired than Simon Yates after he's finished off the Vuelta (hopefully in the red jersey, fingers crossed)...

Did you see Froome at the ToB? He is clearly enjoynig his end of season.. he looked like a different person to his usual skeletal self!

Avatar
RobD replied to Nixster | 6 years ago
0 likes

Nixster wrote:

Not sure how Froome and Thomas are going to be more tired than Simon Yates after he's finished off the Vuelta (hopefully in the red jersey, fingers crossed)...

Yates might be tired, and have only a short amount of time to recover, but he's at racing weight and clearly has fitness, if he can hold some form whilst recovering one more big day could be his opportunity, he may be an outsider but it's not beyond the realms of possibility.

I do wonder if Froome will go for a worlds before he retires, either TTing or the road race, it'd obviously need to be the right course, but he's shown he's capable of preparing himself for an event if he needs to.

Avatar
Sniffer replied to RobD | 6 years ago
0 likes

RobD wrote:

Nixster wrote:

Not sure how Froome and Thomas are going to be more tired than Simon Yates after he's finished off the Vuelta (hopefully in the red jersey, fingers crossed)...

Yates might be tired, and have only a short amount of time to recover, but he's at racing weight and clearly has fitness, if he can hold some form whilst recovering one more big day could be his opportunity, he may be an outsider but it's not beyond the realms of possibility.

I do wonder if Froome will go for a worlds before he retires, either TTing or the road race, it'd obviously need to be the right course, but he's shown he's capable of preparing himself for an event if he needs to.

Froome has no track record in one day races that suggest this will ever be for him.

Avatar
Sniffer replied to RobD | 6 years ago
0 likes

RobD wrote:

Nixster wrote:

Not sure how Froome and Thomas are going to be more tired than Simon Yates after he's finished off the Vuelta (hopefully in the red jersey, fingers crossed)...

Yates might be tired, and have only a short amount of time to recover, but he's at racing weight and clearly has fitness, if he can hold some form whilst recovering one more big day could be his opportunity, he may be an outsider but it's not beyond the realms of possibility.

I do wonder if Froome will go for a worlds before he retires, either TTing or the road race, it'd obviously need to be the right course, but he's shown he's capable of preparing himself for an event if he needs to.

Froome has no track record in one day races that suggest this will ever be for him.

Avatar
peted76 | 6 years ago
0 likes

They are clearly not prepared for the worlds, I'm pleased to see others in front of them in form. Surely our chances are best with a Yatesy or Hugh Carthy? Although.. I'd love to see Connor Swift and Tao show their faces and put some attacks in.. 

Genuinley excited about the worlds.. 2018 so far has been the best year of racing I can remember for a long time! It's been excitement and drama all year!

Avatar
check12 | 6 years ago
0 likes

Disappointing that Thomas and Froome won’t be there, possibly the last realistic chance they will get to be world champion?

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