1 million fans, 2,600 athletes, 200 rainbow jerseys and 13 World Championships, all inside 11 days.
Glasgow 2023 promises to be one of a kind as the biggest cycling event of all time descends on Scotland’s largest city.
The renowned Nevis Range downhill run, the rugged terrain of Glentress Forest and the iconic Chris Hoy Velodrome are among the venues set to provide the perfect stage for the best on two wheels.
Here are seven in a long line of British Olympic stars standing ready to be the life and soul of the party.
Bethany Shriever - BMX racing
When it comes to women’s BMX racing, this is Beth Shriever’s world and we’re just living in it.
Three wins from four World Cup races make the Olympic champion the undisputed rider to beat in Glasgow, despite two heavy crashes this season and fourth at the European Championships.
“The rainbow jersey is a special one to have,” says Beth. “It means you’re the one to watch and I’d love to get it again.”
Changes to the Glasgow track have led Shriever to call it ‘the most technical course I’ve ever ridden’, playing further to her advantage in the bid for gold.
Katie Archibald - Track, endurance
Katie Archibald has been the most powerful female track rider in the world.
She owns two Olympic, four world and an incredible 20 European titles in the velodrome.
Whether the 29-year-old adds to that number in Glasgow is hardly the point as she returns to the top table for the first time since the tragic passing of partner Rab last year.
Archibald hopes to use her participation at the World Championships to magnify the role that Rab played in Scottish cycling and to promote a love of the sport and cycling as a form of exercise.
“These world championships, and the conversations happening around it, I feel, are a chance for people to talk about (Rab) as one of those legends,” says Katie.
Tom Pidcock - Mountain bike
Olympic champion Tom Pidcock likes to be busy.
Fresh from a first Tour de France and a one-day Classic win at Strade Bianche, Pidcock will take on Sunday’s 271km road race and then go for mountain bike glory six days later at Glentress.
Famed for his unique approach to descents, Pidcock’s multi-discipline career with Ineos Grenadiers is a runaway train that shows no signs of stopping in Scotland.
“Coming home from a Grand Tour is terrible,” says Tom. “You have no recollection of how to cook or do any normal jobs. I made an omelette this morning; normally I’m quite good but it was terrible.”
Charlotte Worthington - BMX freestyle
The Charlotte Worthington that takes to the course in Glasgow will be very different to the one that won Olympic gold in Tokyo.
Stepping away from the sport for a short time earlier in 2022 to ‘find the love’ again, Worthington captured her latest national title last month to pave the way to the World Championships.
“I think on my personal journey right now, enjoying myself is more important than winning,” she said.
The 27-year-old will hope a renewed energy and perspective will help her improve on last year’s fifth-place finish at world level.
Jack Carlin - Track, sprint
Pugnacious Paisley rider Jack Carlin is now the leader of Britain’s sprinting stable.
“I absolutely love the scrap,” Carlin said in a recent interview. “When you put the helmet on, that red mist descends.”
He succeeds our most successful Olympian, Sir Jason Kenny, who retired after Tokyo and now coaches the men’s sprint squad.
Carlin owns 13 international medals, all variations on silver and bronze, with a global gold medal still eluding him. Where better to put that right than in Glasgow?
Evie Richards - Mountain bike
Evie Richards has overcome a bunch to become one of the world’s leading mountain bikers.
Born in the Malvern Hills where she found a love for the discipline, when the 26-year-old first joined an elite programme she struggled with RED-S and overtraining.
Richards was crowned world champion in 2021, just weeks after her Olympic debut in Tokyo, and captured Commonwealth gold just a few miles from home in Birmingham last summer.
“I don’t always have much confidence and I was almost embarrassed to be wearing the rainbow stripes," says Evie. "I worked a lot with my psychologist to get some of that confidence to represent the jersey well."
Ollie Wood - Track, endurance
Ollie Wood is the softly-spoken star of Britain’s world-beating men’s endurance squad.
He is another to have built on his Olympic debut in Tokyo and has really grown in stature in recent years.
The Yorkshireman played a crucial role in Britain’s stunning victory in the 2022 World Championship team pursuit, beating world record holders Italy to the rainbow jersey in Paris.
With the likes of Dan Bigham and Ethan Vernon combining road and track ambitions in a flexible approach adopted by the British team, Wood is resolutely focused on track and thus a totem of that new strategy.
Sportsbeat 2023