It’s that time again, as we head into the tail end of the World Cup calendar and eyes start turning towards the World Championships. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves though, here is British Cycling’s line up for the Hoogerheide round of the World Cup.
Reigning junior world and under-23 national champion Tom Pidcock will be back in action representing the Great Britain Cycling Team on Sunday at the final round of the UCI Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Hoogerheide Provincie Noord-Brabant.
Pidcock, who has won every world cup he has entered this season, has already sealed the overall victory by winning four rounds and will be looking to finish the season off with a fifth win in the Netherlands.
Dan Tulett and Ben Turner will join Pidcock in the under 23 men’s race having all seamlessly stepped up from the junior category this year after creating cyclo-cross history by making it an all-Great Britain podium at the 2017 world championships
Ian Field will line up in Great Britain Cycling Team colours in the elite men’s event, with Beth Crumpton and Anna Kay taking to the start-line in the elite women’s race.
British Cycling’s development programme mountain biker Sean Flynn will be joined by Ben Tulett, brother of Dan Tulett, and Jenson Young in the junior men’s race.
British Cycling’s cyclo-cross co-ordinator Matt Ellis said: “The final round of the world cup series takes place the weekend before the world championships – the team for which will be announced soon – so riders will be using Hoogerheide as part of their final preparations. As such we can expect competition in the categories to be tough.
“The course is flat and it drains well, so it will be a fast race. There are a lot of dead turns as well as a big flight of concrete stairs to contend with. The course hasn’t changed from last year’s world cup, so the majority of the squad will be familiar with it. In the junior men’s event last year, Tom Pidcock won and Ben Turner came second so it will be good to see how they get on this year in the under-23 men’s race.
“This season has been fantastic for British cyclo-cross riders, and it would be great to finish the world cup series off with some strong results before we turn our focus to the world championships in Valkenburg.”
Tom Pidcock said: “It’s been a really good year for me and my team mates this year, our results both in the world cups and in races around Europe have been impressive and that’s helped create a good team spirit within the group. For me personally, I’ve really enjoyed racing at under-23 level and I’m pleased I’ve won four rounds. This weekend’s race is going to be a hard one, but I feel in a good place physically and I know the course so I’m looking forward to giving it my best and hopefully getting a decent result to round off the world cup season.”
Great Britain Cycling Team for Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup, Hoogerheide:
Elite Men
Ian Field
Elite Women
Beth Crumpton
Anna Kay
U23 Men
Tom Pidcock
Dan Tulett
Ben Turner
Junior Men
Sean Flynn
Ben Tulett
Jenson Young
British riders Nikki Brammeier, Evie Richards and Helen Wyman will compete for their respective club or trade teams.