Two-time Olympic champion Katie Archibald will return to racing next week at the UCI Track World Championships, her first competition since breaking her leg in June.
The 30-year-old fractured her tibia and fibula, dislocated her ankle, and tore two ligaments when she fell on a step in her garden a month before the Paris Olympics. She was forced to forego what would have been her third Games, instead dedicating herself to rest and recovery.
Almost four months on from the accident, Archibald has now been selected in the Great Britain squad for the Track World Championships in Ballerup, Denmark, scheduled for 16-20 October. She will join her teammates in the women's endurance squad who won bronze in the team pursuit in Paris – Josie Knight, Anna Morris and Jess Roberts – as well as Madison silver medallist Neah Evans, Meg Barker and Sophie Lewis.
"I'm thriving on the bike," Archibald wrote on Instagram last month. "You'll just have to wait and see."
Also part of the GB squad for this month's World Championships are the Olympic women's team sprint champions Katy Marchant, Sophie Capewell and Emma Finucane, the only British track gold medallists from Paris. The trio will compete for medals across the sprint disciplines, with Finucane out to defend her title in the individual sprint.
Olympic team pursuit silver medallists Ethan Hayter, Ollie Wood, Charlie Tanfield and Dan Bigham headline the men's endurance squad for the event. Bigham will compete in the individual pursuit at the championships, turning the final pedalstrokes in his journey with the national squad, before he turns to focus on his new role as head of engineering at WorldTour team Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
Among the experienced riders, three 20-year-olds are set for their elite Worlds debuts in Denmark. Ineos Grenadiers rider Josh Tarling, a double junior European track champion, is part of the men’s endurance squad alongside Noah Hobbs of Groupama-FDJ; while three-time national champion Harry Ledingham-Horn will compete in the sprint events.
Double Paris medallist Jack Carlin has opted to forego this year's World Championships, as have his Olympic-silver-medal-winning team sprint partners Hamish Turnbull and Ed Lowe.
"While some riders rest after a heavy season, this gives other riders an opportunity to step up and stake a claim for a podium squad place," said the squad's performance director, Stephen Park.
"The world championships after the Olympic Games is always an exciting mix as our Olympic medalists are riding high from a successful Games and will hopefully end the season with some more medals to add to their palmares," Park continued.
The full 23-rider GB squad for the UCI Track World Championships is below. The competition begins inside the Ballerup Super Arena next Wednesday 16 October, and runs until Sunday afternoon.
Women’s Endurance
Katie Archibald
Meg Barker
Neah Evans
Josie Knight
Sophie Lewis
Anna Morris
Jess Roberts
Men’s endurance
Dan Bigham
Rhys Britton
Josh Charlton
Ethan Hayter
Noah Hobbs
Mark Stewart
Charlie Tanfield
Josh Tarling
Ollie Wood
Women’s sprint
Sophie Capewell
Emma Finucane
Katy Marchant
Lowri Thomas
Men’s sprint
Harry Ledingham-Horn
Hayden Norris
Joe Truman
Marcus Hiley (travelling reserve)
