World Championship GB Squad

Sportive Mad

So the worlds are not to far away and it looks like one of the best shots we will get at claiming the much desired rainbow stripes. With a lot of riders who will feel they have a deserved chance of competing, I was wandering which 8 British riders you would choose to represent team GB?

greasedscotsman

Sportive Mad wrote:

So the worlds are not to far away and it looks like one of the best shots we will get at claiming the much desired rainbow stripes. With a lot of riders who will feel they have a deserved chance of competing, I was wandering which 8 British riders you would choose to represent team GB?

We? I'll pick you for a start then!

rubertoe

In no particular order:

Cav.
Millar.
Thomas.
Swift.
Hunt.
Lloyd.
Any other two you like.

FJS

Eisel
Rabon
Sioutsou
Smukulis
Barry
Carlstrom
Lovkvist
Augustyn

Pross

rubertoe wrote:

In no particular order:

Cav.
Millar.
Thomas.
Swift.
Hunt.
Lloyd.
Any other two you like.

Much the same but with Stannard a definite. Possibly Hammond for some grit and experience.

ozzzyosborn206

i think blythe should get a ride but not being a sky rider probably lessens his chances a bit. Wiggins and maybe dowsit would be useful for the 5-3 k lead out

cal_stewart

think blythe would be useful, does a good job with gilbert and he's that bad on his own in a sprint.

Tom BB

Pretty much set in stone who will be riding isn't it?.......Haven't only 7 or 8 riders scored the necessary world ranking points?

Wiggo, Millar, Thomas, Swift, Kennaugh, Cummings, Cav, Blyth i make it?

iainf72

FJS wrote:

Eisel
Rabon
Sioutsou
Smukulis
Barry
Carlstrom
Lovkvist
Augustyn

inkyfingers

Tom BB wrote:

Pretty much set in stone who will be riding isn't it?.......Haven't only 7 or 8 riders scored the necessary world ranking points?

Wiggo, Millar, Thomas, Swift, Kennaugh, Cummings, Cav, Blyth i make it?

I believe that the riders you pick for the worlds don't have to be the ones who scored you the points to get there, though i don't profess to be an expert on UCI rules!

Assuming they are in reasonable shape i'd go for:

Cav
Wiggins
Millar
Thomas
Swift
Stannard
Cummings
Hunt

Got some speed, some experience, a lead out train and in Cummings, maybe a guy they could try and put into a break.

Pross

Would think Wiggins and Dowsett may be saved for the TT?

You don't have to use the riders who got the qualifying points, they just determine how many riders you get. Blythe or Russ Downing would be my final person (or possibly both and do away with Lloyd).

RichN95.

Pross wrote:

Would think Wiggins and Dowsett may be saved for the TT?

Millar for the TT, surely?

cogidubnus

Id have Millar and Wiggins for the TT

pat1cp

and these boys can ride a road race three days after a TT without too much difficulty. Spartacus usually manages it.

andyxm

Tom BB wrote:

Pretty much set in stone who will be riding isn't it?.......Haven't only 7 or 8 riders scored the necessary world ranking points?

Wiggo, Millar, Thomas, Swift, Kennaugh, Cummings, Cav, Blyth i make it?

The reason that we only get 8 riders (rather than 9) is that only 8 have scored world ranking points, I'm not sure if you can then only pick those 8 though. Would make sense, but this is the UCI that we are talking about....

avoidingmyphd

andyxm wrote:

Tom BB wrote:

Pretty much set in stone who will be riding isn't it?.......Haven't only 7 or 8 riders scored the necessary world ranking points?

Wiggo, Millar, Thomas, Swift, Kennaugh, Cummings, Cav, Blyth i make it?

The reason that we only get 8 riders (rather than 9) is that only 8 have scored world ranking points, I'm not sure if you can then only pick those 8 though. Would make sense, but this is the UCI that we are talking about....

You can definitely pick who you like, up to the maximum number which is determined by the convoluted qualification criteria.
So GB can ride any 8 riders.

avoidingmyphd

andyxm wrote:

Tom BB wrote:

Pretty much set in stone who will be riding isn't it?.......Haven't only 7 or 8 riders scored the necessary world ranking points?

Wiggo, Millar, Thomas, Swift, Kennaugh, Cummings, Cav, Blyth i make it?

The reason that we only get 8 riders (rather than 9) is that only 8 have scored world ranking points, I'm not sure if you can then only pick those 8 though. Would make sense, but this is the UCI that we are talking about....

You can definitely pick who you like, up to the maximum number which is determined by the convoluted qualification criteria.
So GB can ride any 8 riders.

Tom BB

Ah right....I stand corrected :oops:

I suppose it depends on whether or not Wiggo can be arsed......if he can the him, Millar, Cav, Thomas, Kennuagh, Cummings, Stannard and probably Blythe would be my picks.....

Dorset_Boy

Wiggo is quoted in today's Telegraph that he will ride the road race for Cav:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/8705697/Vuelta-a-Espana-2011-Bradley-Wiggins-happy-to-work-in-tandem-with-Mark-Cavendish-at-Team-Sky.html

See very end of article

No_Ta_Doctor

Dorset Boy wrote:

Wiggo is quoted in today's Telegraph that he will ride the road race for Cav:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/8705697/Vuelta-a-Espana-2011-Bradley-Wiggins-happy-to-work-in-tandem-with-Mark-Cavendish-at-Team-Sky.html

See very end of article

he has been using a heat chamber in his garden shed to prepare for high temperatures.

I can't be the only one that thought "parafin burner, crate of beer and a copy of Mayfair".

edhornby

Dorset Boy wrote:

Wiggo is quoted in today's Telegraph that he will ride the road race for Cav:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/8705697/Vuelta-a-Espana-2011-Bradley-Wiggins-happy-to-work-in-tandem-with-Mark-Cavendish-at-Team-Sky.html

See very end of article

repayment of karma from Bejing, where brad had a virus that cost cav the gold in the madison

inkyfingers

edhornby wrote:

Dorset Boy wrote:

Wiggo is quoted in today's Telegraph that he will ride the road race for Cav:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/8705697/Vuelta-a-Espana-2011-Bradley-Wiggins-happy-to-work-in-tandem-with-Mark-Cavendish-at-Team-Sky.html

See very end of article

repayment of karma from Bejing, where brad had a virus that cost cav the gold in the madison

It wasn't just Wiggins poor show that denied them, the other teams knew they were the favourites and rode against them.

pat1cp

No tA Doctor wrote:

Dorset Boy wrote:

Wiggo is quoted in today's Telegraph that he will ride the road race for Cav:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/8705697/Vuelta-a-Espana-2011-Bradley-Wiggins-happy-to-work-in-tandem-with-Mark-Cavendish-at-Team-Sky.html

See very end of article

he has been using a heat chamber in his garden shed to prepare for high temperatures.

I can't be the only one that thought "parafin burner, crate of beer and a copy of Mayfair".

Never crossed my mind. You must be warped !!!

Neil McC

Elite Men's Road Race (Eight places)

Mark Cavendish
Steve Cummings
Alex Dowsett
Chris Froome
Jeremy Hunt
Pete Kennaugh
Dan Lloyd
David Millar
Ian Stannard
Ben Swift
Geraint Thomas
Bradley Wiggins

Elite Men's Time Trial (Two places)

Alex Dowsett
David Millar
Bradley Wiggins

Elite Women's Road Race (Seven places)

Lizzie Armitstead
Katie Colclough
Nicole Cooke
Catherine Hare
Nikki Harris
Sharon Laws
Lucy Martin
Emma Pooley
Emma Trott

Elite Women's Time Trial (Three places)

Sharon Laws
Emma Pooley
Julia Shaw

Junior Men's Road Race (Five places)

Owain Doull
Jon Dibben
Grant Ferguson
Matthew Holmes
Sam Lowe
Alistair Slater

Junior Men's Time Trial (Two places)

Owain Doull
Jon Dibben

Junior Women's Road Race (Four places)

Elinor Baker
Hannah Barnes
Lucy Garner
Amy Roberts

Junior Women's Time Trial (Two places)

Elinor Barker
Hannah Barnes

avoidingmyphd

We are pretty good at cycling nowadays eh?

Pross

and should be better still in 10 years as the youngsters are really coming through the system now.

Tusher

How on earth are they going to decide who rides the Elite Men's Time Trial?
Dowsett, Millar and Wiggins? I wouldn't like to make that choice.

andyp

You'd pick Millar and Wiggins if you wanted a chance of a medal. Dowsett has shown a lot of promise but he's not going to come close against the likes of Cancellara and Martin.

fastercyclist

andyp wrote:

You'd pick Millar and Wiggins if you wanted a chance of a medal. Dowsett has shown a lot of promise but he's not going to come close against the likes of Cancellara and Martin.

+1

Olympics are about medals, not giving people "experience".

andyp

Conversely, if we're thinking about the Olympics then Wiggins and Dowsett should get the nod at the Worlds as part of their preparation for next year. (Millar is inelligible for the Olympics).

Wiggins is a seasoned performer at this level but it would be a big ask to expect Dowsett to perform at the Olympics having never ridden a major championships before.

RichN95.

andyp wrote:

Conversely, if we're thinking about the Olympics then Wiggins and Dowsett should get the nod at the Worlds as part of their preparation for next year. (Millar is inelligible for the Olympics).

Wiggins is a seasoned performer at this level but it would be a big ask to expect Dowsett to perform at the Olympics having never ridden a major championships before.

Ah, but there's a problem with the Olympics - a really, really stupid UCI rule (possibly imposed on it by the IOC). Prepare to be amazed:

At the Olympics GB will have five riders in the road race and two in the TT. However, and here's the kicker, the two for the TT must come from the five who do the road race.

Ta-da! The Gold Medal for rubbishness goes to cycling.