The identities of the nine junior motocross riders that will represent ACU TeamGB at the Coupe de l’Avenir in Belgium on 26–27 September have been confirmed.
The event, often described as the Motocross of Nations for young riders, will once again be held at Baisieux and will bring together some of the best emerging motocross talent from across Europe.
The riders have been selected by the TeamGB management group consisting of Dave Garland, Lee Bolt, Mark Chamberlain and Steven Sword.
Flying the Union flag in the 65cc class will be Jack Waters, Tommy Wood and Cohen Llewellyn, while the 85cc team will be made up of Cohen Jagielski, Casey Lister and Jett Gardiner. Representing TeamGB in the Open class will be Jayden Jones, Malachi Allan and Chris Brindley.
TeamGB heads to Belgium following a strong run of performances at the Coupe de l’Avenir in recent years, but the focus for this year’s squad will simply be on giving each rider the opportunity to perform to the best of their ability while proudly representing Great Britain.
Speaking about the selection, Lee Bolt said: “We’re extremely proud of the team we’ve selected to represent Great Britain at this year’s Coupe de l’Avenir.
“Our aim was to put together a squad that can be competitive, but equally to give some of our most exciting young riders the opportunity to experience international racing at this level.
“British youth motocross has a huge amount of talent coming through at the moment, and with only three places available in each class, inevitably some very good riders have missed out.
“We believe this group gives us a great blend of proven ability, raw speed and future potential.
“For many of these riders, this will be an important step in their development. Racing against some of the best young riders in Europe, dealing with the responsibility of representing their country and experiencing a major international team event can only help them progress.
“We’re going there to compete and every rider will naturally want to achieve the best result possible, but we don’t want to place unnecessary expectations on such a young team.
“What matters most is that they give everything, support each other, enjoy the experience and conduct themselves in a way that makes their families, the ACU and Great Britain proud.
“If they can come away from Belgium having done that, then whatever the final result, they will have represented TeamGB in the right way.”