GB women target Worlds team pursuit three-peat

2025 Track Cycling World Championships

Venue: Velodromo Penalolen, Santiago, Chile Date: 22-26 October

Coverage: BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport Website & App

Great Britain are targeting a 3rd consecutive world title successful nan women's squad pursuit astatine nan Track Cycling World Championships successful Chile.

The British squad took golden astatine Glasgow successful 2023 earlier successfully defending their title successful Denmark successful 2024. The 2025 arena takes spot successful Santiago from Wednesday 22 to Sunday 26 October.

Josie Knight, Jess Roberts, Katie Archibald, Anna Morris and Megan Barker return to return purpose astatine golden erstwhile more, while Maddie Leech will make her World Championship debut aft narrowly missing retired connected nan women's omnium European title earlier this year.

Britain person dominated nan women's squad pursuit since its inception successful 2008, winning 8 golden medals, six silvers and 2 bronzes, failing to triumph a badge conscionable once.

With nan sustained occurrence of nan British team, Knight says she understands nan unit connected nan squad.

"It's conscionable thing that has travel from nan history of nan arena and nan riders that person travel earlier us," she said.

"They person group this precedent that British Cycling is 1 of nan champion teams successful nan world.

"Sometimes you tin find yourselves thinking: 'How did we extremity up being these people?'

"You've had Laura Kenny and Elinor Barker and Joanna Rowsell mounting specified a modular for america that we want to support that going."

Kenny won 5 Olympic and 7 World Championship golden medals while Barker won Rio Olympic golden to spell pinch 7 world titles. Rowsell is simply a double Olympic and five-time world champion.

"People look astatine america arsenic nan best, whether aliases not we are," added Knight. "So we conscionable person to return assurance from that and cognize that arsenic overmuch arsenic we're looking astatine different nations, they're each looking astatine us.

"Nine times retired of 10 we tin do it, truthful we've sewage hope.

"I don't want to jinx thing but it would beryllium really bully to triumph it 3 times successful a row, that would beryllium thing special."

Roberts was portion of nan 2024 squad and says nan title will beryllium reliable successful Santiago.

"Everyone is truthful strong, I conjecture we're reasoning astir different teams arsenic well," said Roberts, 1 of 3 Welsh riders successful nan sextet on pinch Morris and Barker.

"The spot successful women's cycling now is really high, you've each conscionable sewage to bring your A-game really."

With nan summation of 22-year-old Leech, nan make-up of nan 4 riding successful nan squad could look different again, but it is simply a situation nan squad are relishing.

"I deliberation pinch nan programme we person present astatine British Cycling, pinch nan podium imaginable and nan younger riders and nan group successful complaint of coaching them, you cognize that whenever a younger 1 comes up they cognize what they're doing, they've done it," said Knight.

"They whitethorn person done it astatine a slower velocity but you tin instantly person that spot successful them, truthful it's ne'er a spot thing.

"It's conscionable learning really personification does ride, it comes pinch it's challenges but it's portion of nan arena and nan beauty of squad pursuit."

As good arsenic nan squad pursuit, each nan riders successful nan women's endurance squad will besides compete successful individual events.

Knight will beryllium seeking glory successful nan individual pursuit but will look stiff title from chap GB squad personnel Morris, who has group 2 world records successful nan arena this year.

Roberts will beryllium looking to spell 1 amended from nan metallic she won successful nan omnium past year.

The rainbow jersey is nan unique racing apical worn by a reigning world champion successful a cycling discipline, a contented that has been going since 1927.

However, neither Roberts nor Knight person ridden pinch nan rainbow stripes this year, pinch some taking a break from title aft nan Paris 2024 Olympic cycle.

"I won successful nan squad pursuit successful Glasgow successful beforehand of a location crowd and that was nan twelvemonth earlier nan Olympic games," said Knight.

"That was rather a batch of racing, truthful each clip you pulled them connected it was thing special.

"I deliberation that's what's really unsocial astir cycling because erstwhile you triumph a world title, you person nan typical jersey to wear.

"Neither of america person really raced this twelvemonth truthful we've not sewage to deterioration them, truthful we're making nan astir of it successful training now - you won't spot maine connected nan way not successful them."

The sentiment is echoed by Roberts: "I haven't raced successful them truthful I'd emotion to, we'd emotion to triumph it again and hopefully really title successful it adjacent year.

"Like Josie I'm conscionable trying to deterioration it [the rainbow jersey] successful training."

The ambition remains clear for nan squad arsenic they hole for nan Santiago track.

"We each want to spell and triumph that's what we're going location for," said Roberts.

"We're looking to put 3 coagulated rides together that we're proud of.

"You've sewage to look astatine really we execute it arsenic good and that's each you tin do, but for judge we're going for nan rainbows."