Cavendish heads slimmed down British team at World Championships

By Sportsbeat staff

BRADLEY Wiggins will miss the World Road Race Championships in Melbourne with Mark Cavendish heading the British team.

TOUGH TASK: Mark Cavendish will have just two other riders to support him in October's World Championships road race in Melbourne (Getty Images)

But British Cycling has only been awarded three places in the senior men's road - down on the full quota of nine they received for last year's event.

It means Cavendish - who will be supported by Jeremy Hunt and Geraint Thomas - will face a tough battle to win the world title, with British cyclists outnumbered by rivals from Morocco, Venezuela and Iran.

Wiggins absence is no surprise - he stated after a disappointing Tour de France that he wanted a ‘proper break' after a mystifying form slump, which has contributed to the number of places the British team has been awarded, when contrasted with his top four finish in last year's Tour.

Olympic champion Nicole Cooke has been selected to ride in the women's road race, along with national champion Emma Pooley and under-23 champion Lizzie Armitstead.

David Millar will be the sole British rider in the elite time trial and will fly straight from Melbourne to represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

Current under-23 European time trial champion Alex Dowsett will represent Great Britain in both the men's under-23 time trial and the road race.

"It's no surprise that we've built the men's road team around Mark this year, and both Mark and the coaching staff believe that, of the pool of talent we had to choose from, Geraint and Jeremy would provide the best support to Mark on this course," said British Cycling's performance director Dave Brailsford.

"The women's team is looking strong this year and there are a few medal contenders in there, which puts us in a good position as we can see nearer the time which rider the team will support. 

"I'm really pleased to see Academy riders Lucy Martin and Katie Colclough back on form after their accident in Belgium earlier this year."

Elite Men's Road Race - Mark Cavendish, Jeremy Hunt, Geraint Thomas

Elite Men's Time Trial - David Millar

Elite Women's Road Race - Lizzie Armitstead, Katie Colclough, Nicole Cooke, Sharon Laws, Lucy Martin, Emma Pooley, Catherine Williamson

Elite Women's Time Trial (four nominated, two to ride) - Nicole Cooke, Sharon Laws, Emma Pooley, Emma Trott

Under 23 Men's Road Race - Alex Dowsett, Andy Fenn, Jonny McEvoy, Luke Rowe

Under 23 Men's Time Trial - Alex Dowsett