New era as six riders make their British debuts

British cycling performance director Dave Brailsford says the Track Cycling World Championships will begin a “changing of the guard” within his team.

Six riders will make their senior debuts at the event which began today here in Minsk, Belarus.

Brailsford has opted to miss the championships, instead helping to pursue Team Sky’s ambitions on the road, with the British team instead headed up by Shane Sutton. There is a notable new look to the team that swept the board at London 2012. Two-time Olympic champion Victoria Pendleton has retired from the sport, while Sir Chris Hoy has opted to miss the championships.

One of the debutants, Vicky Williamson, was due in action later today having come in to the team sprint along with Becky James for Pendleton and Jess Varnish, who misses the event because of a back injury.

With a combined age of 41, just five years older than Hoy collectively, James and Williamson are something of an unknown and their medal hopes are not necessarily high.

Brailsford and Sutton have refused to give a gold medal target ahead of the championships, understandable with a new-look British team and the form of rival line-ups somewhat unknown in the build-up. In addition is the fear of another post-Olympic slump.

After sweeping the board at the Beijing Games, Britain won just two gold medals at the following year’s worlds — a seemingly meagre haul bearing in mind their previous histrionics.

The expectation from the public, accustomed to British riders on the top step of the podium, will be of another gold rush.

That first gold could come today in the men’s team pursuit. Ranked No1 of the four-man line-ups, Olympic champions in the event Ed Clancy and Steven Burke are joined by Andy Tennant, the rider unlucky not to make the quartet for London, and Sam Harrison.