Lizzie Deignan, Elynor Bäckstedt and Elinor Barker will headline a six-rider robust Nice Britain Biking Crew squad on the upcoming Tour of Britain Ladies, British Biking has confirmed.
Two-time Ladies’s Tour winner Deignan will seemingly lead the workforce in what would be the inaugural version of the race beneath the British Biking banner.
The race will get underway subsequent week in Welshpool, Wales on 6 June, giving each Bäckstedt and Barker the chance to race on house roads. Anna Henderson, Millie Couzens and Flora Perkins will full the Nice Britain Biking workforce choice.
4 ladies’s WorldTour groups, together with SD Worx-Protime – the workforce of present street World Champion Lotte Kopecky – will present stiff opposition for the likes of Deignan because the Nice Britain workforce look to problem for total victory.
However, Bäckstedt informed Biking Weekly that the group would look to “showcase the expertise” throughout the squad throughout the 4 days of motion.
“We will certainly have a extremely robust workforce there,” she mentioned. “As Crew GB we can have a bunch of such robust riders there, and simply come out in full drive actually. I believe we undoubtedly have gotten an excellent probability total, and we have got an excellent probability at every of the levels. So we’ll undoubtedly give it our greatest shot and race one of the best we are able to as a workforce and simply actually showcase the expertise that GB has coming by way of in the mean time.
“We have identified one another a very long time. I’ve received my common teammate, Lizzie, within the workforce, which is very nice. And quite a lot of the women I’ve both grown up with, or I’ve raced World Championships with earlier than…All of us simply wish to do one of the best for ourselves and in addition attempt to show the racing expertise of our nation.”
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She added: “It is actually large [to get to ride for Great Britain]. There’s not that many instances all year long the place that is truly a chance. So it is very nice to race with new individuals, the individuals that you’d usually be competing towards.”
The primary two days of racing will happen in Wales. Bäckstedt defined that she was excited to get caught into the route assembled, notably in entrance of a house crowd.
“I believe it may make for some actually laborious racing,” she mentioned. “There’s some actually powerful levels, which I believe, actually reveals off British roads fairly effectively. It’s a powerful nation to race your bike in and that is what makes it so enjoyable. I’d discover a few of the climbs just a little bit difficult, however I will have quite a lot of enjoyable all through all of it.
“Having two levels in Wales is clearly actually nice. There’s nothing fairly like racing in Wales particularly, it is simply so totally different and it is so good to have a Welsh crowd there as effectively.”
British Biking Efficiency Director, Stephen Park mentioned that the occasion will present the riders with the perfect alternative to stake a declare for an Olympic spot later this summer time.
“We all know that the workforce will relish the uncommon alternative to race at house, and for the Paris hopefuls among the many squad, the occasion will play an important position within the last preparations for the Video games,” he mentioned. “We all know that they’ll add actual energy and stardust to the race and count on followers shall be out in drive to indicate their help.”
The Tour of Britain Ladies will begin in Welshpool on 6 June, wrapping up three days later in Leigh, Better Manchester.
