Philip Hindes was the only surprise in the Great Britian team named for the track world championships in Melbourne this April.
The nineteen-year-old Academy rider will travel to Australia mainly for the experience with a team full of Olympic champions and world record holders, buoyed by their recent performance at the London world cup.
Missing from the list is sprinter Ross Edgar who rode in the man one position in the GB team sprint team that took bronze in London. British Cycling’s announcement says Edgar is recovering from an injury, but when interviewed last weekend, Performance Director Dave Brailsford raised question marks over Edgar’s future in the team sprint.
“We had a process, we decided we would look where Ross was at. The theory is that Kenny could go faster than Ross has been going here, and if that is the case you’ve got to build the team sprint from the front,” Brailsford said.
Instead the team sprint trio for Melbourne is likely to be Jason Kenny, Sir Chris Hoy and Matt Crampton. The five days of racing should also finally decide who gets the one available Olympic spot for the men’s sprint. Sir Chris Hoy has put himself in the lead after winning gold at the recent world cup, leaving current world champion Jason Kenny with work to do.
The rest of the team is made up of the riders who competed last weekend. The world championships are the final chance to score qualifying points for the Olympic games, and earn selection.
Sprint
Matt Crampton
Philip Hindes
Sir Chris Hoy
Jason Kenny
—
Victoria Pendleton
Jess Varnish
Endurance
Steven Burke
Ed Clancy
Pete Kennaugh
Ben Swift
Geraint Thomas
—
Wendy Houvenaghel
Dani King
Joanna Rowsell
Laura Trott
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Related links
London Track World Cup 2012: Coverage index
Team GB continue to experiment with teamsprint line-up ahead of Olympics
Team GB: London 2012 Olympic cyclists profiles
Cycling Weekly’s guide to track racing