Perth’s Rory McGuire has been selected to ride for Great Britain at the Cyclo-cross World Championships.
The 18-year-old, a Perth High student, will line-up in the under-23 event in Ostend, Belgium at the end of the month.
Cyclo-cross races are held over mixed terrain, including mud, trail and obstacles.
“I was hoping to get picked and it’s a good achievement,” McGuire told the Perthshire Advertiser.
“British Cycling are ranked number one in the world for the under-23 men. There are a lot of good riders.
“I’ve only taken part in one under-23 event but it would be nice to get a good result.
“I couldn’t really give a place, I’m not sure where I’ll be. But we’ll just see what happens.”
Course conditions are expected to be slightly different to normal but McGuire has been tailoring his training in preparation.
“The course will be very sandy,” he said. “So I’ve been doing a lot of sand practice, going to the likes of Stanley.
“It’s new for me but big in Holland and Belgium. Those riders will be used to it but it’s going to be exciting.
“I had a bit of an endurance block and then I’ve been building the intensity, working on my skills and keeping the legs turning over.”
McGuire’s experience in the sport is building all of the time and last month he competed in the elite class at a World Cup event in Namur.
The legs will be turned over further at this weekend’s World Cup event in Overijse.
“I’m going out this weekend to race another World Cup and that will be against the elite guys again,” McGuire told the PA.
“It will be good to get my head back in the game racing. I think it’ll be a good warm-up for the world championships.”
