Tim Elverson has selected three debutants in his Tour of Britain squad.
Dexter Gardias, Harry Tanfield and Rory Townsend have been among the stars of BIKE Channel Canyon’s maiden campaign.
And the trio have been rewarded with places in the six-man squad for the UCI 2.HC stage race, which begins in Edinburgh on Sunday.
Sports director Elverson announced his line-up on Wednesday as excitement builds ahead of the eight-day event, which will culminate in Cardiff on Sunday, September 10.
The team will be spearheaded by Cornish sprinter Chris Opie, who will be hoping to make the most of a relatively flat parcours.
Opie, who finished third behind Dylan Groenewegen and Caleb Ewan on the opening stage of the Tour de Yorkshire in April, will be making his fifth appearance in the race following his debut in 2012.
James Lowsley-Williams, another stand-out performer this season, is aiming to build on his two appearances in the race for NFTO (2014, 2015).
The 24-year-old’s strength will no doubt be key in putting Opie in position in the sprints, as well as taking chances to show off the jersey in breakaways.
The squad will be led by road captain Rob Partridge, who stands on the brink of his 11th appearance in the race.
Only Kristian House (11) has tackled the contest on more occasions, since it returned to the cycling calendar in 2004.
Spring Cup champion Townsend, National Circuit Series third Tanfield and Grand Prix Series runner-up Gardias complete the line-up.
Tanfield, 22, and Gardias, 26, both won combativity jerseys at the Tour de Yorkshire for their heroics in breakaways on stage two and stage three, respectively.
Meanwhile, Townsend came within millimetres of banking BIKE Channel Canyon’s maiden UCI win when he was second in the UCI 1.2 Midden Brabant-Poort Omloop in July.
The 22-year-old’s season has also included fourth place in the Rutland-Melton International CiCLE Classic as he continues to build on the promise he showed at Pedal Heaven.
Click here to find out more about the Tour of Britain. Follow BIKE Channel Canyon’s fortunes throughout the race with regular updates on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
