No Pidcock, no problem: Fred Wright handed leadership role for Great Britain at world championships

This article originally appeared on Velo News

Fred Wright will lead the line for the Great Britain men’s team at the UCI Road World Championships in Australia later this month.

The British rider recently announced his contract extension with Bahrain-Victorious for another three years and with Tom Pidcock ruling himself out of the championships with fatigue the British men’s team will concentrate its efforts around Wright.

Ethan Hayter, Luke Rowe, Jake Stewart, Ben Swift, Connor Swift, Ben Tulett, and Ben Turner make up the rest of the men’s team. Hayter will also race the time trial.

Also read: Tom Pidcock to sit out road worlds after long multi-discipline season

"Fred has obviously gone well at the Tour de France and now at the Vuelta. I've been in touch with him every day and he's feeling better after every stage," road coach Matt Brammeier told VeloNews just prior to the official roster being announced.

"We're going to open up the opportunity around him and base the day on him. We've got Ethan focused on the time trial and we think he has a good shout there for a medal and then Fred is for the road race."

Wright has had a strong season in 2023 with a number of high profile placings including six top-tens in grand tours stages and seventh at the Tour of Flanders in the spring. Losing Pidcock just weeks away from the championships was an obvious blow to the team’s medal hopes on the men’s side but Brammeier believes that Wright can fill the void.

"Looking at how he's developed and how he's raced this year I think that Fred can be there. Looking at the start list there are some dropping out and I think the race will have a different dynamic to the last few years, especially with it being in Australia. I'm confident in Fred and that he can seize the opportunity. It's a massive chance for him, he’s at full systems go.”

There are no spots for former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas, Mark Cavendish Adam Yates, Simon Yates and Tao Geoghegan Hart.

On the women’s team Pfeiffer Georgi will be joined by Anna Henderson, Anna Shackley, Alice Towers, Elynor Backstedt, and Lizzie Holden. Zoe Backstedt will aim to defend her junior world title from twelve months ago.

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