Tom Pidcock and Evie Richards will lead British Cycling's elite men's and women's selection at the UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Switzerland on February 1-2. [Pidcock, who won the under-23 world title last year, will be the only rider from Team GB to compete in the elite men's race, facing defending champion Mathieu van der Pol and Pidcock's former U23 rivals Eli Iserbyt, Wout van Aert, Toon Arts and other Belgian players.

This will be his first participation in the elite men's category of the World Championships.

"Obviously, the World Championships is the biggest cyclocross race on my season calendar, and I've been building up to it.

"I've had some good results recently and my training is going well. I haven't raced on this course before and the weather could have a big impact on the race, but that's the same for everyone so I'm not too worried about that.

Pidcock had a big crash at the Tour de Lavenir last summer, but won a bronze medal in the under-23 road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire in September. He underwent dental surgery in November to correct the dental damage from his summer crash and returned to racing cyclocross.

Two-time under-23 women's champion Evie Richards will compete in the elite women's race with teammate Beth Crampton. Richards was forced to sit out the last half of last year's cyclocross season due to knee surgery and has set a strong goal for the end of this year's season.

"The group of riders selected to represent the British Cycling team in Dubendorf is really interesting, with a lot of promise and a lot to watch out for," said Matt Ellis, British Cycling's cyclocross coordinator.

"On the elite side, Pidcock has been building his skills this season racing against the best in the world and is looking to peak at this World Championships.

"It's also great to have Evie back racing for us. She has incorporated a lot of cyclocross training into her mountain bike program and this World Championships is a big goal for her.

The under-23 men's event will feature last year's junior world champion Ben Tallet, Cameron Mason, Thomas Main, and Ben Turner.

In the women's under 23 event, recent elite national champion Hattie Harden and European silver medalist Anna Kaye have both been selected.

"In the under 23 category, we have seen some strong performances at the international level this year, and we have seen Anna Kay in particular really step up and grow in confidence," Ellis said.

"On the men's side, Thomas Main stepped up as well, highlighted by his victory at the World Cup in Tabor."

Junior national champions Rory McGuire and Millie Couzens have been selected to represent Great Britain, as have silver medalists Oliver Stockwell and Josie Nelson and bronze medalists Cochran Carrick-Anderson and Anna Flynn. They will be joined by Ben Chilton, Joe Keeley, and Maddy Wadsworth.

"In the junior category there is a mix of talent. As well as cyclo-cross athletes, Millie Couzens and Oli Stockwell are from British Cycling's track endurance junior academy program, while Anna Flynn and Corran Carrick-Anderson are mountain bike development team members of the mountain bike development team. It is great to have riders on the team who can develop their skills across disciplines at such a high level."

"British Cycling has a history of success at the World Championships and every year we see this legacy motivate the team on race day. I see it. I think we have real potential this year and I'm excited to see what the team can accomplish."