News: GB Academies Revealed

The Great Britain Cyclng Team today confirmed the riders who will train on the Great Britain Cycling Team Senior and Junior Academy programmes

News: GB Academies Revealed

The Great Britain Cyclng Team today confirmed the riders who will train on the Great Britain Cycling Team Senior and Junior Academy programmes for the forthcoming season, including 12 new riders across all disciplines.

The Senior Academy programme brings the riders a step closer to achieving their Olympic dreams and signifies their place as the top young riders in the country as they continue to make their names on the world stage. The likes of five-time Olympic champion Laura Kenny, Fred Wright and Paralympic champion pilot Helen Scott have all been part of the Senior Academy in the early stages of their careers.

On the track, Lowri Thomas is a new addition to the women’s sprint squad after an incredibly successful year, securing a Commonwealth Games bronze, a UCI Track Nations Cup bronze, and a national title in the team sprint. In the track endurance squad, Grace Lister will step up to the senior ranks after winning a junior track world title in the Madison earlier this year, to be joined by British National U23 road race and time trial champion Kate Richardson.

Noah Hobbs and Dylan Hicks will also make the transition from the junior to senior track endurance squad, joining the likes of Josh Giddings and Josh Charlton, who represented Great Britain at this year’s Tour of Britain.

Emily Hutt, who delivered an impressive third-place finish at her first UCI BMX Racing World Cup Under-23 race in September this year, has been selected as a full-time GBCT academy rider. Dylan Hessey and Ash Finlay are the first members of a newly-created BMX Freestyle Park Senior Academy squad, having secured top four finishes at the BMX Freestyle National Championships in October and podium finishes across the National Series.

Under-23 national silver medallist Elena McGorum officially joins Great Britain Cycling Team after a brilliant season representing Great Britain in a number of mountain bike world cup rounds, while Ella Maclean-Howell, who finished fifth in this year’s junior mountain bike world championships, moves up to senior academy.

The new cohort of Senior Academy riders have enjoyed two weeks of inductions, providing them with the opportunity to get to know their coaches, teammates and performance support teams as they prepare to commence full training. The induction covers everything from anti-doping education with UKAD, support from UK Sport, performance data gathering and kit check-ins. They also spent time with in-house experts on nutrition, mental health support and were given the opportunity to ask questions of current podium riders.

The Junior Academy welcomes a group of 24 brand new riders, bringing the total number of riders supported through the programme to 37, highlighting the strength and depth of junior talent across the disciplines, which has been further strengthened by the addition of BMX Freestyle Park and BMX Racing programmes.

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