The Great Britain group heading to Zürich for the Road World Championships options a number of medal contenders and a plethora of huge names.
The greatest likelihood of gold medal success might have already come within the time trial with Josh Tarling, who completed in fourth place, 24 seconds off bronze. That is, regardless of a plethora of power in depth within the elite males’s street race squad.
History
Great Britain have traditionally been among the many extra profitable nations on the Road World Championships, although nonetheless lag a way behind the standard biking nations akin to Italy, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands.
Over the years, 10 rainbow jerseys have been taken dwelling by British riders within the elite occasions, with street race victories by Beryl Burton (1960, 1967) and Tom Simpson (1969) within the distant previous adopted up by a flurry of successes within the 2010s.
Mark Cavendish (2011) and Lizzie Deignan (2015) each took dwelling street race rainbows throughout that golden decade, whereas Emma Pooley (2010) and Bradley Wiggins (2014) gained time trial titles.
Since that the majority current rainbow jersey 9 years in the past, nevertheless, success has been more durable to return by. Great Britain has gained three medals since Armitstead’s triumph – Mark Cavendish’s street race silver in 2016, Chris Froome’s time trial bronze in 2017, and Josh Tarling’s time trial bronze final 12 months.
They’re tied with the USA for seventh within the general medal desk in that timeframe, behind the Netherlands (27), Belgium (13), Australia (11), Italy (9), Switzerland (7), Denmark (5), and France (4).
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Lineups
Elite Men: Mark Donovan, James Knox, Tom Pidcock, Oscar Onley, Jake Stewart, Josh Tarling, Stevie Williams, Adam Yates, Simon Yates
Elite Women: Elinor Barker, Anna Henderson, Lizzie Holden, Claire Steels
U23 Men: Joe Blackmore, Matthew Brennan, Josh Charlton, Bob Donaldson, Oliver Stockwell, Louis Sutton, Callum Thornley, Ben Wiggins
U23 Women (mixed with elites): Josie Nelson, Alice Towers
Junior Men: Oliver Dawson, Seb Grindley, Elliot Rowe, Dylan Sage, Fin Tarling
Junior Women: Arabella Blackburn, Cat Ferguson, Carys Lloyd, Imogen Wolff, Esther Wong
Key Riders
Josh Tarling (Time trial): At the age of simply 20, Tarling seemingly represented Great Britain’s greatest likelihood of a rainbow jersey or a medal of any color in Zürich, having gained the nation’s first medal since 2017 in Glasgow final August.
The time trial specialist leapt straight from the junior ranks to the professionals in 2023, changing his junior world title to an elite bronze medal within the course of, comfortably beating riders together with Brandon McNulty, Wout van Aert, and defending world champion Tobias Foss.
He went on to take the elite European title a 12 months in the past earlier than this summer time profitable the British time trial title. At the Paris Olympic Games, he agonisingly missed bronze by simply two seconds and wasn’t too far again from Remco Evenepoel’s gold medal place at 28 seconds again.
Tarling was a main contender for glory within the time trial on Sunday, however completed simply out of the medal positions having began his run with a 3rd place on the opening checkpoint.
There’s each likelihood that the TT represented the nation’s greatest likelihood of success in Zürich. Now, the street race squad should put collectively a giant efficiency subsequent weekend if the group is to go away Switzerland with a medal.
Tom Pidcock: Men’s street race group chief Tom Pidcock – already a world champion in cyclo-cross and mountain bike – heads up a deep squad and can lead the cost within the battle in opposition to high favourites Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel
From the skin, it is laborious to gauge the 25-year-old’s kind. A crash noticed him go away the current Tour of Britain with a concussion on the ultimate stage, forcing him out of potential Worlds warm-ups on the GP Québec and GP Montréal.
However, he did rating a number of high 10 placings in Britain, his third outing on the street since profitable Olympic gold on the mountain bike in Paris and may have had a few weeks of focused coaching below his belt since.
With wins at Strade Bianche and Amstel Gold Race plus high 10s on the Leuven Worlds and Liège-Bastogne-Liège on his palmarès, Pidcock is Great Britain’s premier, confirmed one-day contender. Despite the power of the group, all eyes can be on him for a British outcome on Sunday.
Stevie Williams: 28-year-old Williams is the wildcard of the lads’s squad on the street race, with the debutant having loved a breakout season this 12 months.
In current seasons, the Welshman has taken the general title on the Arctic Race of Norway and a stage win on the Tour de Suisse, however he is ascended to a different degree altogether in the course of the 2024 marketing campaign.
His performances on Willunga Hill and Mount Lofty noticed Williams safe the Tour Down Under title in January earlier than delivering the most important win of his profession so far at La Flèche Wallonne three months later. He’s in high kind now, too, having just lately gained two phases and the general on the Tour of Britain.
The 274km mendacity forward of him this week is a completely new problem, nevertheless, with Williams having not but featured as a contender at a race of such size. He completed 3:42 down on the Paris Olympic Games street race, the longest race of his profession so far – one which additionally featured simply 2,900 metres of elevation compared to 4,200 right here.
Williams is not among the many high tier of contenders right here, then, however he is one among a number of choices for Great Britain to combine issues up and go on the offensive alongside Oscar Onley, Adam Yates and Simon Yates.
Anna Henderson: While the British males can look to a high contender, 9 riders, and loads of power in depth for the street race, it’s kind of of a distinct story for the ladies. Henderson is the nation’s greatest – and barring a giant shock, solely – hope at an elite girls’s rainbow jersey or a medal in Zürich.
Last 12 months, she missed time trial bronze by a devastatingly shut two-second margin on dwelling floor in Stirling, however she’s greater than made up for it since with silvers ultimately 12 months’s European Championships and once more in Paris on the Olympic Games this summer time.
Henderson completed seventh and 50 seconds away from bronze in Sunday’s time trial, that means one likelihood at a medal – even when she wasn’t a high favorite – has handed.
In the street race, she’ll lead a six-rider squad, heading into the race as an outsider relatively than a medal favorite as she was for the time trial. Henderson’s document at main championships contains thirteenth place in Paris, albeit 2:36 off the medal positions and an eighth place on the Col du VAM ultimately 12 months’s European Championships.
She’s additionally been there or thereabouts in a number of Classics races – together with Amstel Gold Race, Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders – lately, main the Visma-Lease A Bike squad alongside Marianne Vos.
She might not head up the favourites listing in Zürich not like Vos’ Dutch teammates, however Henderson is certainly one to observe on Sunday.
Strengths
The power of the lads’s squad is available in its depth, with an inventory of top-quality riders filling out the nine-man choice alongside chief Pidcock. Onley and Williams could also be debutants on Sunday, however any strikes by them will not be ignored by the opposite massive nations, whereas the Yates brothers haven’t got a lot of a document on the Worlds however, after all, they’re all the time harmful.
The girls’s group, in the meantime, can head into the race understanding they’re going to be targeted fully on one chief, even when probabilities at scoring a street race medal look barely decrease than for Pidcock and co. With no radios out on the street, there will be no confusion as to group techniques and targets.
Weaknesses
Neither the lads’s nor the ladies’s squads boast a high favorite for the rainbow jersey amongst their ranks. Pidcock is within the listing of riders within the combine for a medal whereas Henderson is an outsider, however you must look overseas to Tadej Pogačar, Demi Vollering, Remco Evenepoel, and Lotte Kopecky for the most important favourites.
The view from Great Britain
The golden period of British Cycling, spanning the primes of Mark Cavendish, Chris Froome, Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas and the unstoppable Olympic monitor group, is lengthy gone, and with it so has the eye on biking, which stays a distinct segment sport within the nation.
Back then, it was all in regards to the Tour de France and the Olympics, whilst Cavendish, Wiggins, Pooley and Deignan gained world titles. It’s the identical these days, even when the nation at the moment boasts a powerful group of riders at Worlds and past.
Still, there are medal probabilities all through the week, regardless of Great Britain’s greatest probabilities at profitable one probably having already handed by.