Sir Bradley Wiggins named in GB squad for European Track Championships

Sir Bradley Wiggins and Laura Trott headline the Great Britain squad for the European Track Championships that take place in Grenchen, Switzerland, next weekend.

Wiggins, who is hoping to gain selection for the Rio 2016 Olympics, is named along with seven other endurance riders, although Ed Clancy is absent with injury.

Becky James is also rested, having only recently returned from a knee injury, but sprinters Katy Marchant, Vicky Williamson and Jess Varnish will all be present, while the men havePhilip Hindes, Matt Crampton, Jason Kenny and Lewis Oliva.

Seven-time European champion Trott is joined by Katie Archibald, Joanna Rowsell-Shand, Elinor Barker and Ciara Horne for the endurance events.

“We’ve selected a strong squad for this year’s European Championships. With the Olympic Games in Rio now less than a year away it’s a great opportunity to secure some vital qualifying points," said technical director Shane Sutton.

“We saw some really promising performances at the British Cycling National Track Championships and the Europeans provide a good chance to put the talent out there and pit themselves against the best in the world.

“Having Bradley Wiggins there for the whole squad is a plus. If you want to go into big battles, you need big leaders and Brad is a big leader. He’s won the Tour, he’s won everything in cycling so it’s good for the squad he is going.”

Great Britain squad for the European Track Championships in Grenchen, Switzerland (Oct 14-18)

Laura Trott

Katie Archibald

Joanna Rowsell-Shand

Elinor Barker

Ciara Horne

Katy Marchant

Vicky Williamson

Jess Varnish

Philip Hindes

Matt Crampton

Jason Kenny

Lewis Oliva

Sir Bradley Wiggins

Owain Doull

Steven Burke

Andy Tennant

Matt Gibson

Chris Latham

Ollie Wood

Jon Dibben