British Cycling has announced that Mark Cavendish will be supported by Jeremy Hunt and Geraint Thomas at the world championships road race in Melbourne on October 3.
Geraint Thomas (Sky) is the British national road champion and he delivered some impressive performances in the first week of the Tour de France. Jeremy Hunt (Cervélo) has been a professional since 1996 and his wealth of experience in piloting bunch sprints could prove invaluable to Cavendish in Australia.
Due to its position in the UCI international rankings, Great Britain has been limited to a three-man representation this year. With Mark Cavendish always earmarked to lead the team on a course that has been touted as the most sprint-friendly circuit since Zolder in 2002, the only uncertainty was over his support.
“It’s no surprise that we’ve built the men’s road team around Mark this year,” British Cycling’s Performance Director Dave Brailsford said. “Both Mark and the coaching staff believe that, of the pool of the talent we had to choose from, Geraint and Jeremy would provide the best support to Mark on this course.”
British Cycling also confirmed that David Millar (Garmin-Transitions) will ride the time trial event, which takes place on September 30.
Meanwhile, the Great Britain team for the women’s road race will be composed of Lizzie Armitstead, Katie Colclough, Nicole Cooke, Sharon Laws, Lucy Martin, Emma Pooley and Catherine Williamson.
Pooley has had another strong year, winning the British championships as well as the Tour de l'Aude stage race and two prestigious one day races, GP de Plouay and La Fleche Wallonne.
Four riders have been nominated for the women’s time trial, with two set to ride. They are road race team riders Cooke, Laws and Pooley, as well as Emma Trott.
For the Under 23 men’s road race, Alex Dowsett, Andy Fenn, Jonny McEvoy and Luke Rowe have made the cut, with Dowsett also set to ride the time trial.