London 2012 Olympians Shanaze Reade and Liam Phillips head up a nine-strong British team for the upcoming UCI BMX Supercross World Cup at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester.
Reade, who crashed in the BMX final on her Olympic debut at Beijing 2008 before finishing sixth at London 2012, joins Abbie Taylor as the two British females chosen for the home World Cup.
Phillips meanwhile is one of seven male riders selected with Kyle Evans, Grant Hill, Quillan Isidore, Dan McBride, Curtis Manaton, Liam Phillips and Tre Whyte completing the line up.
The World Cup runs from April 19-20 in Manchester and Olympic BMX coach Grant White is interested to see how his young charges perform just as much as Reade and White.
“Preparations for the first round of the World Cup season have been going well and I was pleased to see Shanaze take two wins at last weekend’s UEC series event opener in France,” said White.
“An additional benefit to having a home World Cup is that the younger riders who haven’t made selection to represent GB can still compete for their trade team.
“So our Olympic Development Programme riders will all get to experience racing at an elite level which is invaluable for their progression.
“This will be a world-class event. We’re all looking forward to the racing being underway.”
© Sportsbeat 2013