Cycling Australia have announced their elite men`s and women`s squads for this year`s UCI Road World Championships, which take place in Yorkshire, in the UK, from September 22-29. Among them are defending time trial world champion Rohan Dennis (Bahrain-Merida) and 2015 Worlds road-race silver medallist Michael Matthews (Sunweb), while Mitchelton-Scott`s Amanda Spratt - second at last year`s Worlds road race - and last Saturday`s Clasica San Sebastian winner Lucy Kennedy headline the women`s squad. Dennis is yet to race again since quitting the Tour de France last month, a day ahead of the Tour`s only individual time trial, for which he would have been one of the favourites, while Matthews was controversially overlooked for selection for last year`s Worlds. Spratt and Kennedy, meanwhile, are just two of four Mitchelton-Scott riders selected for the seven-rider elite women`s squad, which also includes Canyon-SRAM`s Tiffany Cromwell and 2018 Herald Sun Tour winner Brodie Chapman.ADVERTISEMENT `These World Championships will be unique, and not like what we have seen in the past,` Brad McGee, Cycling Australia`s road technical director, said in a press release. `There are a lot of unknowns, and I expect these races to be very open and very dynamic. `Our athletes will need to be very adaptable, well-aligned strategically and technically, with endurance set to be a big factor,` he continued. `Matthews and Simon Clarke have proven themselves in one-day races across similar terrain, and `Spratty` [Amanda Spratt] again has had an outstanding year performing multiple roles.` Reconnaissance rides of the road courses by various nations in recent months - including Italy and Belgium - have revealed the parcours to be considerably tougher than first thought.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
|