British cross country team announced for mountain bike Worlds

Image 1 of 3

British Cycling have selected 10 cross country and team relay riders to represent Great Britain at the Mountain Bike World Championships in Champéry, Switzerland, from August 31 to September 4. Four cross, downhill and trials riders will be selected after the final World Cup of the season.

Five recently crowned national champions will represent Great Britain in the cross country, including 21-year-old Annie Last who has ridden in the elite category this season despite being an under 23 rider. She has scored three top-20 finishes at World Cup level. For the World Championships, she will ride in the U23 category in accordance with the UCI rules in an event in which she won the silver medal in 2010.

Nine riders were selected for the cross country.  Three of those riders, plus downhiller Tracy Moseley, will race the team relay.

British Cycling's Olympic Mountain Bike Coach Phil Dixon said, "I'm pleased with the GB team we're submitting for the cross country event, with all of the riders having performed consistently at World Cups this season. The team will be looking to build on the 2010 World Championship performance across all age categories in September."

"We're also submitting a strong team into the relay event this year as it holds Olympic qualification points for us and I'm pleased to have downhill world champion Tracy Moseley on the team for this event."

"We'll announce the downhill, four cross and trials riders after the final World Cup of their season to ensure that everyone has every possible opportunity to gain selection."

Cross country
Elite men: Liam Killeen, Oli Beckingsale
U23 men: David Fletcher, Kenta Gallagher
U23 women: Annie Last
Junior men: Grant Ferguson, Matt Sumpton
Junior women: Bethany Crumpton, Katy Winton

Team relay
Grant Ferguson
David Fletcher
Kenta Gallagher
Tracy Moseley