British Cycling can today announce the 11-strong squad that has been selected to represent Great Britain at the 2025 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, in Liévin, France from Friday 31st January to Sunday 2nd February.
Taking on a challenging and varied course, three-time national champion Cameron Mason will spearhead the elite men’s race. Mason, who has had three top-10 world cup finishes so far this season, will be joined by Thomas Mein, who delivered a world cup best position of sixth place in Besançon in December, alongside three National Trophy Series wins so far this season.
Zoe Backstedt will be donning a Great Britain jersey and pulling out all the stops in an attempt to defend her under-23 women’s title. The 20-year-old has had a whirlwind season so far, claiming top 10 finishes in every world cup she’s entered, including three podiums. She will face some stiff competition in the form of Luxembourg’s Marie Schrieber, as well as a strong showing from her own nation.
Having missed a chunk of the cyclo-cross season due to injury, Cat Ferguson will be looking to make her mark in her first year at under-23 level, after securing the junior women’s silver medal in 2024. National bronze medallist Imogen Wolff will also be pushing for a podium position, alongside Ella Maclean-Howell.
Back-to-back national champion Oscar Amey will compete in the junior men’s category, having had a promising season so far with three top 10 performances in the junior world cups. Making his world championship debut alongside him will be national championship silver medallist Milo Willis.
All three of Great Britain’s junior women will be making their world championship debut in Liévin, with Arabella Blackburn, Zoe Roche and Ellie Mitchinson looking to earn their stripes on the world stage.
After winning a silver medal last year in the team relay event, Great Britian will be competing in this event with the line up to be confirmed closer to competition.
Matt Ellis, Great Britain Cycling Team Cyclo-cross Co-ordinator, said:
“We have a fantastic squad of promising riders heading to the world championships this year, ready to take on an interesting course and show their talent on the world stage.
“We have a fantastic range of experience from cyclo-cross veterans to debutants looking to gain experience on the biggest stage, all supporting each other and ready to represent Great Britian with pride and determination.
“Having this level of strength and depth across the programme to take 11 riders to a world championships is a credit to the talent teams and coaching staff that support these riders to become the best in their sport and I’m looking forward to seeing what they can deliver in competition.”
Great Britain Cycling Team Squad for the 2024 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships:
Elite men
Cam Mason
Thomas Mein
Under-23 women
Zoe Backstedt
Cat Ferguson
Ella Maclean-Howell
Imogen Wolff
Junior men
Oscar Amey
Milo Wills
Junior women
Arabella Blackburn
Ellie Mitchinson
Zoe Roche
GBCT will not be sending an elite women’s squad, or under-23 men’s squad to the 2025 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.
For all major event selections, we follow a rigorous and independent selection process in line with that specific event’s objectives. This ensures that we select riders who have the best chance of performing at world championship level or gaining valuable and positive development experience.
In this case, in the elite women and under-23 men’s categories, there were no riders who met these objectives strongly enough to be selected for a major world championships.
