The 12 riders registered for the British Cycling team for the UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Ostend, Belgium, on January 30 and 31 have been announced.

Tom Pidcock (Trinity Racing) impressed last year at the age of 20, winning a silver medal in the same category; Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing CX), a two-time under-23 women's world champion, will race in the elite women's race; and Tom Pidcock (Trinity Racing), a two-time world champion in the under-23 category, will race in the men's race. Seven men and three women will compete in the U23 category.

"Tom Pidcock's two podium finishes so far in the World Cup series and his win at the Telenet Superprestige in Gavère just before Christmas are excellent confirmation of his performance in the road and mountain bike season." Stephen Park, British Cycling's performance director, said in a press release. "[He] has definitely established himself as a 'racer to watch' in elite men's racing, and after finishing second in his debut in this world championship category last year, we are very excited to see what he can do this year."

Pidcock, currently ranked ninth in the UCI elite rankings, began his cyclocross campaign with a 17th place finish at the first World Cup in Tabor, followed by seven podium finishes in 10 races. The day after the World Championships, Pidcock will be wearing the black and red colors of the Ineos Grenadiers for the mountain bike races. His first road race will be the opening weekend on the Algarve's Volta Ao and the Belgian cobblestones.

Richards has a shortened cyclo-cross schedule after winning two mountain bike short track cross country World Cup races last fall. Her best finish was sixth in the World Cup in Namur in late December.

"I'm looking forward to watching Evie race in Ostend, partly in preparation for the Tokyo selection for the mountain bike race, but also because of her passion for cyclocross and her potential to do well on this course," Park said.

Leading the women's U23 content is Anna Kay (Star Casino CX Team), currently ranked 12th in the elite women's field, with 12 top-10 finishes in 21 elite races during a busy season. The 21-year-old is a 2020 bronze medalist and will race alongside Hattie Harden and Josie Nelson.

European silver medalist Thomas Main and bronze medalist Cameron Mason have been selected for the U23 men's race and will line up with brothers Dan and Toby Barnes, Rory McGuire, Oli Stockwell, and Ben Turner on the British cycling team.

"At the European Championships, Thomas Main and Cameron Mason finished on the podium in second and third place, respectively, in the under-23 men's race.

Earlier this month, the World Cup junior and U23 races in Ovelice were cancelled. Following this, the UCI announced that the junior division of the World Cup would not be held.

"The competent authorities in Belgium have confirmed that the men's and women's elite and under-23 races of the 2021 UCI Cyclocross World Championships will take place as scheduled on January 30 and 31 in Ostend (Flanders, Belgium). However, due to a pandemic (Covid-19) related to the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the men's junior and women's junior races are cancelled," the UCI announced on January 15.

"We are aware that they are disappointed to receive the news on Friday that the juniors will not be able to compete, but given the circumstances, we fully understand and respect this decision," Park said.

"As an elite sports team, we recognize that we are in a very privileged position to be able to continue our activities and we do not take that lightly. The team that will travel to Belgium promises to do the country proud, not only in performance but also in conduct while representing the British Cycling Team, and we look forward to the start of the first World Championships in 2021, which should be a brilliant year for British cycling."

U23 Men (January 30): Dan Burns, Toby Burns, Cameron Mason, Rory McGuire, Thomas Main, Oli Stockwell, Ben Turner

U23 Women (January 31): Hattie Harden, Anna Kay, Josie Nelson

Elite Women (January 30): Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing CX)

Elite Men (January 31): Tom Pidcock (Trinity Racing)