UCI Track Cycling World Championships 2016: Mark Cavendish and Becky James return for Rio warm-up
Mark Cavendish and Becky James are the stand-out names included in the Great Britain squad for the Track Cycling World Championships in London, taking place 2-6 March. Cavendish returns to the team after a seven-year absence from the track and will look recapture his madison world title alongside Sir Bradley Wiggins, while also competing in the omnium.
James, meanwhile, has missed the last two years with a left knee injury that forced her to withdraw from the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The Wales-born rider will seek to repeat her success from her maiden World Championships appearance, when she won the keirin and individual sprint titles.
Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell Shand, Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes return to the scene of their success at London 2012, whereTeam GB topped the track cycling medal table with eight golds – however they have since been unable to sustain that dominance. Emily Nelson and Chris Latham earn their first call up to the senior team.
"We've selected the strongest squad available to us for these worlds – we're in good shape and the team we've selected is close to the Olympic model," said technical director Shane Sutton. "Winning is always a key objective for any sports team and we're sticking to our long-term goal – which is success at the Olympic Games in Rio – so we'll be making performance decisions based on this strategy.
"That said, there's been a marked increase in momentum within the squad recently and we've been seeing some promising numbers in training, so I'm expecting to see some strong performances across the board and spectators will be guaranteed to see some world-class competition."
Great Britain Cycling Team for UCI Track Cycling World Championships:
Women's sprint:Becky James, Katy Marchant, Jess Varnish.
Men's sprint:Matt Crampton, Phil Hindes, Jason Kenny, Callum Skinner.
Women's endurance:Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker, Ciara Horne, Emily Nelson, Joanna Rowsell Shand, Laura Trott.
Men's endurance:Steven Burke, Mark Cavendish, Ed Clancy, Jon Dibben, Owain Doull, Chris Latham, Andy Tennant, Sir Bradley Wiggins.
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