Phenomenal British team confirmed for 2021 World Championships in Flanders

Mark Cavendish, Lizzie Deignan, Tom Pidcock, Ethan Hayter, and Dan Bigham headline the powerful start list for GB

Mark Cavendish at the 2021 Tour of Britain
(Image credit: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

The phenomenal British team have been confirmed for the 2021 World Championships in Flanders.

It is a remarkable list of talent that will be representing the Union Flag in Belgium later this month, including Mark Cavendish, Tom Pidcock, Ethan Hayter, and Lizzie Deignan, who all headline the elite road races. 

Dan Bigham, the aero expert and star of the domestic time trial scene, will also be representing the Great Britain Cycling Team in the men’s time trial, having previously criticised British Cycling’s approach in elite competition. 

BC performance director Stephen Park said: “I’m really looking forward to the Road World Championships this year, as we have some serious medal contenders within the squad in every category.

“The Road World Championships are a key feature for the Great Britain Cycling Team’s road squad, and for me, personally, it will be great to see the likes of Mark and Lizzie bring their form and experience into a team keen to do the jersey proud and bring back medals.

“It will be interesting to see how the elite men’s road race plays out, too – based on what we know about the course and with so many riders in top form, we’ve made the decision not to go with one team leader, giving us a number of options as the race plays out. The race really could belong to anyone!” 

There will be a total of 30 riders from GB competing in the week-long series of racing, from the mixed team time trial, the junior competitions, through to the elite road races. 

Former world champion Lizzie Deignan will lead the women’s squad in the elite road race, while Joss Lowden and Pfeiffer Georgi will take on the women’s TT. 

In the men’s road race, the team is completely stacked with potential winners, including Mark Cavendish, Tom Pidcock, Ethan Hayer, and Connor Swift, while the TT will be contested by Hayter and Bigham. 

In the mixed relay team time trial, Dan Bigham was race as team leader, alongside Alex Dowsett, John Archibald, Joss Lowden, Alice Barnes and Anna Henderson. 

>>> Young fan who 'led' Tour of Britain breakaway presented as Jumbo-Visma's additional rider ahead of final stage

The UCI Road World Championships in Flanders take place from Sunday, September 19 through to Sunday, September 26, based around the city of Leuven.

With a Classics-style course on the card, the elite road races will be raced over 157km for the women and 267km for the men, on some of the iconic cobbled climbs the region is famous for. 

Great Britain Cycling Team for the 2021 World Championships 

Elite women's road race

Lizzie Deignan
Anna Shackley
Alice Barnes
Anna Henderson
Pfeiffer Georgi
Joss Lowden

Elite women's TT

Joss Lowden
Pfeiffer Georgi

Elite men's road race 

Tom Pidcock
Luke Rowe
Fred Wright
Jake Stewart
Connor Swift
Ben Swift
Mark Cavendish
Ethan Hayter

Elite men's time trial 

Ethan Hayter
Dan Bigham

Under-23 men's road race

Ethan Vernon
Sam Watson
Oliver Stockwell
Robert Donaldson
Lewis Askey

Under-23 men's time trial 

Ethan Vernon

Junior women's road race 

Maddie Leech
Millie Couzens
Flora Perkins
Zoe Bäckstedt

Junior women's time trial 

Zoe Bäckstedt
Maddie Leech

Junior men time trial 

Max Poole
Finlay Pickering
Joshua Tarling
Jack Brough

Junior men time trial 

Finlay Pickering
Joshua Tarling

Mixed team time trial 

Dan Bigham (team leader)
Alex Dowsett
John Archibald
Joss Lowden
Alice Barnes
Anna Henderson 

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Alex Ballinger

Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers.  Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.