Monday 3 November 2014 12:00, UK
Joanna Rowsell has withdrawn from Great Britain’s team for this weekend’s UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Guadalajara.
The 25-year-old is currently building up her form ahead of the season’s second world cup in London next month and February’s world championships, and has consequently opted to stay in Britain this week to train rather than travel to Mexico to race.
The Guadalajara world cup is the first of three world cups in the 2014/15 season and takes place from November 7-9.
A British Cycling statement said: “Joanna Rowsell has withdrawn from the first round of the 2014/15 UCI Track Cucling World Cup series in Guadalajara to focus on conditioning training, with the longer-term aim of performing at the highest level at the London round of the world cup series.”
Rowsell wrote in her www.skysports.com blog last month that she is currently in a trough of form. She peaked for the Commonwealth Games in July, when she won gold in the individual pursuit, and intends to peak again in the winter.
She said: “You can’t peak all the time, so you have to have periods where your form dips and I’m in one of those now.”
As a result, Rowsell could only finish third in the individual pursuit at the British national championships in September and fifth in the individual pursuit at last month’s European Track Championships in Guadeloupe.
The London UCI Track Cycling World Cup takes place from December 5-7.
Revised Great Britain team for the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico:
Men's sprint: Matt Crampton, Phil Hindes, Jason Kenny, Callum Skinner.
Women's sprint: Danni Khan, Jess Varnish, Vicky Williamson.
Men's endurance: Steve Burke, Mark Christian, Ed Clancy, Jon Dibben, Andy Tennant.
Women's endurance: Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker, Ciara Horne, Laura Trott.
