By Ian Gordon
Josh Tarling, Stevie Williams, Emma Finucane and Ella Maclean-Howell have booked their tickets for the Paris Olympics.
The Welsh stars have been named in the first wave of selections for the Games which start next month – all will be making their Games bow.
Tarling, one of Britain’s brightest cycling prospects, will compete in the time trial and road race.
Williams will join him in the road race fresh from making his Tour de France debut when that race starts in Florence on Saturday.
Tarling has produced a series of blistering time-trial performances in recent years including a European title and a world championship bronze medal.
The 20-year-old from Aberaeron this month defended his British title in the race against the clock and was a superb second in the time trial at the Criterium du Dauphine recently.
Tarling will compete in the time-trial event alongside Ethan Hayter, who will later transfer to the men’s track endurance squad.
Williams’s form on the road earned him selection for the Isreal Premier Tech team for the Tour de France.
The Aberystwyth-born rider has had a superb season winning the Tour Down Under before becoming the first Brit in history to win La Flèche Wallonne..
Finucane heads to Paris as the woman to beat having already won the World and European sprint titles on the track.
The 21-year-old from Carmarthen won the world title in Glasgow last year – emulating fellow Welsh rider Beccy James – before adding the European crown on the boards in Holland this year.
Finucane will also compete in the women’s team sprint who have qualified for the Games for the first time since London 2012.
Fellow Welsh sprinter Lowri Thomas will be a travelling reserve for the women’s sprint in Paris.
In the women’s mountain bike Llantrisant’s rising star Ella Maclean-Howell will join Evie Richards to also make her Olympic debut.
Performance Director for the Great Britain Cycling Team, Stephen Park, said: “I am delighted for each and every one of the riders we have announced today to represent Team GB in Paris and have no doubt that they will make the nation proud over the 18 days of cycling competition in Paris.
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“This group includes four previous Olympic medallists, with Tom Pidcock, Ethan Hayter, Katy Marchant and Jack Carlin all looking to get themselves on the podium once again, while on the other side of the coin I’m proud once again of our work to support & nurture the best of British talent through our performance pathway, and to see 10 debutants announced as part of the squad today.
“We’re blessed with an incredibly talented, passionate and hungry squad of riders, and we are now fully focused on supporting their final preparations so that they can be at their very best come Paris.”
Team GB cycling team:
Men’s mountain bike
Charlie Aldridge
Tom Pidcock
Women’s mountain bike
Ella Maclean-Howell
Evie Richards
Men’s road
Ethan Hayter (TT)
Tom Pidcock
Josh Tarling (TT/RR)
Stevie Williams
Fred Wright
Men’s track endurance
Dan Bigham
Ethan Hayter
Charlie Tanfield
Ethan Vernon
Ollie Wood
Mark Stewart (travelling reserve)
Men’s track sprint
Jack Carlin
Ed Lowe
Hamish Turnbull
Joe Truman (travelling reserve)
Women’s track sprint
Sophie Capewell
Emma Finucane
Katy Marchant
Lowri Thomas (travelling reserve)