Lawson Craddock misses out on World Championships as visa gets approved "20 minutes after my flight"

Luck is not always present for some, and Lawson Craddock is a prime example of that this week, as visa complications have took him out of the Wollongong World Championships.

The American had already talked about the complications that have seen a delay in his visa process to be able to travel to Australia. Eventually, he managed to have it approved, but that was very shortly after USA's team departed into the outskirts of Sydney. “Complications during the process caused my visa to delayed and it wasn’t until about 20 minutes after my flight departed for Australia (without me on it) that it was finally approved," Craddock said in an Instagram post. "

"While it still would have been physically possible to make it in time to Australia for the TT tomorrow [this morning], I wasn’t confident that it would allow me enough time to recover enough from the Vuelta, travel, and jet lag to allow me to put my best performance out on the road," he explained. "Disappointed with how things turned out in the end, but I’m looking forward to ending the season on a high note with (Team BikeExchange - Jayco).

The 30-year old had shown great form throughout the Vuelta a Espana and was among the main selections for the American team for the Worlds. Several riders were forced to miss it for various reasons, but Craddock's is unique. The American team saw Magnus Sheffield and Neilson Powless ride to 17th and 22nd places respectively, as the INEOS Grenadiers crashed whilst fighting for a place in the Top5.