Great Britain Sees Rare Opportunity at Road World Championships in Montreal
The short version
- Tadej Pogacar misses the men's road race after crash injuries at the Vuelta a Espana.
- Zoe Backstedt took second in the elite time trial and rides Saturday's 180.4km women's road race.
- Tom Pidcock leads the British entry in Sunday's 273.2km men's road race.
- Matthew Brennan won a Grand Tour debutant record five Vuelta stages.
- Coverage in the UK streams on iPlayer and BBC Sport, with the men's race finale also on BBC Three.
With Tadej Pogacar absent and a new wave of British talent emerging, GB riders chase rainbow jerseys in the men's and women's road races this weekend.
Great Britain heads into the UCI Road World Championships in Montreal this weekend with one of its strongest collective chances in years, boosted by the absence of Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar from the men's race following crash injuries he sustained at the Vuelta a Espana in August.
A new generation of British riders is making its mark. Matthew Brennan, 21, won five stages of this year's Vuelta for Visma Lease a Bike, a record for a rider on Grand Tour debut, while 49 British riders now compete across the men's and women's World Tours, more than ever before.
Zoe Backstedt took second place in Sunday's elite time trial, her first appearance at that level, and will line up in Saturday's women's road race, a 180.4km event over eight laps of Montreal. Tom Pidcock, the Olympic mountain bike champion and Tour de France stage winner, races the men's 273.2km event on Sunday over 12 circuits.
Britain's hopes are built on a legacy of seven elite road race world titles, from Beryl Burton (1960 and 1967) and Tom Simpson (1965) through Mandy Jones (1982), Nicole Cooke (2008), Mark Cavendish (2011) and Lizzie Deignan (2015).
In the UK, the women's road race streams on iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app on Saturday, September 26 from 14:00 BST, with the men's race on Sunday, September 27 from 14:00 BST, the final two hours also broadcast on BBC Three.
