World title would be "the dream" for Fred Wright as he leads Great Britain into Wollongong

Great Britain will be missing some of it's figures at the World Championships, but they will absolutely not be an absent lineup, as they feature Ethan Hayter and Fred Wright within the shot of capturing a strong result in Wollongong.

The latter has talked to Cyclingnews ahead of the race: "I think that underdog is a good description for me and for us as a team. We've got a lot of strength and we're going to use it while the others look at each other. That's the plan." As several others have, Wright began mind games, claiming there is a specific rider to cover: "Wout van Aert is the out and out favourite for this course and he showed in the Tour and all the races he's done this year that he's so strong. But it's almost in our favour to be the underdogs."

Read also

Tadej Pogacar considers "impossible almost" to drop van der Poel and van Aert in World Championships climbs

The hilly circuit in Australia may favour attackers, and Great Britain are looking to take advantage of that. Whilst Ethan Hayter may remain an option for a sprint - as can Wright - their team consist of quality riders in Ben Turner, Ben Tulett and a series of riders who would benefit from a conservative race. Wright is not thinking of a sprint, however taking into consideration how he's done at the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana, he would perhaps benefit from that scenario.

He's talked about his travel to Australia, the first in his life. "This is my first time dealing with proper jet lag, I've never been to Australia. I'm on Australia time now. All my eating and bowel movements are in sync, that's a sign that I'm ready. I'm not as tired from the Vuelta as I thought I'd be. Two Grand Tours in a year is a lot but I think I've done well at resting. I'm in a good place, that's for sure," he described.

Read also

Mathieu van der Poel: "I did everything I could to be in order for this World Championships"

Wright finished second in a stage at the Tour de France, and at the Vuelta he consistently performed in some hilly stages and sprints, bringing himself almost into the red jersey in the opening week, and into second in the points classification. His climbing, rouleur and sprinting skills were all on his display, and he's looking to take advantage of them. "That'd be the dream, to accumulate all this learning I've done in the last few months into a win on Sunday. There's still unknowns to that but I'm looking forward to it," Wright pointed out.

"Everyone dreams of the rainbow bands and being able to wear them. I think of the nice bike you'd have in nice colours and then putting it on the wall at home. I dream of the bands," he concluded.

Read also

Remco Evenepoel confirms good form ahead of world title attempt: "I feel more energy in my body"