Team England has today announced 35 cyclists set to represent the home nation at this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The team consists of athletes with previous Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games success – including five-time Olympic champion, Dame Laura Kenny, and double-gold medal winning Paralympic champion, Steve Bate MBE.

The line up also includes Olympic Omnium champion Matt Walls, Tokyo silver medallist and world omnium champion Ethan Hayter, Paralympic silver medallist and road world champion Sophie Unwin and mountain bike world champion Evie Richards.

The track and para-track cyclists will race in London’s Lee Valley VeloPark from Friday 29th July to Monday 1st August. The mountain bikers will then compete at Cannock Chase Forest on Wednesday 3rd August, while the time trials will start and finish in West Park in Wolverhampton on 4th August and the road races will start and finish in Warwick’s St Nicholas Park on the 7th.

Dame Laura Kenny returns to Team England after having won gold in the points race at Glasgow 2014. The track endurance rider said: "I cannot wait to get on my bike again at the Commonwealth Games for Team England. There's nothing better than going out on track in front of a home Games crowd...especially at the Lee Valley VeloPark; a place with one or two happy memories for me!"

Joe Truman, Commonwealth silver medallist in the team sprint at Gold Coast 2018, said on his selection to the team: “It’s always an honour to represent your country but it feels extra special to be racing under Team England. I’m looking forward to putting on a good show for our home fans!”

Track sprinter Milly Tanner said: “You rarely get to race for Team England so I can’t wait for the opportunity and I’m looking forward to soaking up the atmosphere of it being a home Games. If I had a penny for the amount of times I’ve heard that the London 2012 Olympic atmosphere was the best they’ve ever experienced- I’d be rich! I really hope I can experience something similar in the same velodrome 10 years later!”

Team England’s Chef de Mission, Mark England OBE, welcomed the athletes to the team: “Cycling is always a crowd favourite and is a sport that we have rich heritage in as a nation. As such, it is an honour to welcome such a talented group of athletes to Team England for the home Games this summer.”

This summer, Team England will comprise of over 400 athletes in total, all of whom will look to capitalise on the once in a lifetime opportunity to bring home success in their own country.

The cyclists announced to represent Team England are:

Track Cycling:

·       Blaine Ridge-Davis – Manchester (from London)

·       Charlie Tanfield – Stockport, Manchester (from North Yorkshire)

·       Dame Laura Kenny – Cheshire (from Harlow)

·       Ethan Vernon – Macclesfield, Cheshire (from Bedford)

·       Grace Lister – Shrewsbury, Shropshire

·       Hayden Norris – Stafford

·       Joe Truman – Manchester (from Hampshire)

·       Josie Knight – Macclesfield, Cheshire (from Buckinghamshire)

·       Lauren Bate – Stockport, Manchester (from St Helens)

·       Maddie Leech – Manchester (from Huddersfield)

·       Milly Tanner – Stockport, Manchester (from Exeter)

·       Oliver Wood – Stockport, Manchester (from Wakefield)

·       Ryan Owens – Manchester (from Milton Keynes)

·       Sophie Capewell – Cheadle, Manchester (from Burton On Trent)

·       Sophie Lewis – Cheadle, Manchester (from Peterborough)

·       Hamish Turnbull – Manchester (from Northumberland)

·       Dan Bigham – Stone, Staffordshire (from Newcastle)

·       Ethan Hayter – Manchester (from London)

·       Matt Walls – Oldham, Lancashire (from Oldham)

 

Para- track Cycling:

·       Sophie Unwin – Honiton, Devon (from Salisbury)

·       Georgia Holt, Pilot for Sophie – Oldham, Manchester (from Nottingham)

·       Steve Bate MBE – Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire

·       Chris Latham, Pilot for Steve – Comberbach, Cheshire (from Bolton)

 

Road Cycling:

·       Abi Smith – York, North Yorkshire

·       Alice Barnes – Stockport, Cheshire (from Oxford)

·       Anna Henderson, Buckinghamshire

·       Ben Turner – Doncaster, Yorkshire

·       Connor Swift – Doncaster, Yorkshire

·       Ethan Hayter – Manchester (from London)

·       Fred Wright – Cheadle, Cheshire (from London)

·       Jake Stewart – Birch Vale, Derbyshire (from Coventry)

·       Josie Nelson – Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire (from Lichfield)

·       Joss Lowden – Andorra (from Lewes, East Sussex)

·       Ethan Vernon – Macclesfield, Cheshire (from Bedford)

Mountain Bike:

·       Evie Richards – Malvern, Worcestershire

·       Harry Birchill – Newton Abbot, Devon (from Torquay)

·       Joseph Blackmore – Bexleyheath, Kent (from Sidcup)

Find out more about the athletes here.