Six Tasmanians in Australian team for cycling world championships

The bumper ARA Australian Cycling Team of 121 will see Tassie riders contesting road, track and mountain bike events.

Launceston Mountain Bike Club members Sam Fox and Cameron Ivory were among the last to be locked in to a Tassie contingent headlined by Perth's triple Commonwealth Games champion Georgia Baker.

Reigning Australian champion Fox will line up for his first elite worlds alongside Ivory, who has chosen to skip the marathon race to focus on cross-country.

Despite being the reigning Commonwealth road race champion, Baker will focus purely on the track with the Northern Districts Cycling Club member a key cog in Australia's endurance program along with Maeve Plouffe, Alex Manly, Sophie Edwards and Chloe Moran.

Launceston City Cycling Club's Josh Duffy forms an equally strong men's track endurance team featuring Olympic bronze medallists Sam Welsford and Kelland O'Brien.

On the road, Northern Districts CC member Hamish McKenzie will tackle the men's under-23 division with Felicity Wilson-Haffenden, of Hobart Wheelers Dirt Devils, among the junior women's team.

Australia will compete in 10 disciplines in and around Glasgow, chasing rainbow jerseys in what is being billed as the biggest cycling event ever staged.

BMX freestyle, BMX racing, cross-country, cross-country marathon, downhill, observed trials, road cycling, track cycling and para-cycling (road and track) will all be on the team's program from August 3-13.

The team named by AusCycling includes 84 elite riders, 11 under-23s and 26 juniors and features six defending world champions.

Former Tasmanian Institute of Sport cycling coach Paul Brosnan is the Chef de Mission for the Australian team and has high hopes for those heading to Scotland.

"This will be a massive event on a scale of major multi-sport games," he said.

"We will have 350 athletes and 80 staff on the ground across Scotland, participating in almost every event on offer.

"With such an extraordinary cohort of riders, Australia will be among the most competitive nations. We've been preparing for this event for months, and our athletes are ready to show off what they can do on the world stage."

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