Thursday 24 September 2015 22:02, UK
Owain Doull believes he is ideally suited to the course for Friday’s under-23 men’s World Championship road race but says he is not guaranteed to be Great Britain’s team leader.
The 22-year-old Welshman will be part of a five-man British squad also containing Alex Peters, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Scott Davies and Gabz Cullaigh in the 162.2km race around Richmond in the United States.
The riders will tackle 10 laps of a 16.2km circuit containing two short cobbled climbs and then a 300m climb leading to a flat finish.
Earlier this month, Doull finished a surprise third overall at the Tour of Britain on similar rolling terrain and he is hopeful of performing just as well on the world stage.
He told skysports.com: "If I could have designed the course, I would have designed something pretty similar. It is likely to favour a small-bunch sprint at the end between 30 or 40 guys. If comes down to a finish like that, I will have a crack at it and, hopefully, I can get something out of it.
"The cobbled climbs suit my riding ability as well. I have gone well in the under-23 Tour of Flanders and stuff like that before, so I should be quite well suited to Richmond.
"I guess I will be plan A given how I did at the Tour of Britain, but we have got a really strong squad, with Tao, Alex, Scott and Gabz. We have got plenty of options and it's potentially a good circuit for all of us.
"Any one of us could come away with a result, and as a national team, that is the main goal: getting someone on that podium. It doesn't matter if it's me or one of the other lads."
Doull is a track rider by trade but races on the road during the spring and summer for Sir Bradley Wiggins' new team, WIGGINS, in order to build endurance.
He has enjoyed good results this season, but the Tour of Britain was the best performance of his career on the road and he continued his rich form by finishing an impressive fifth in Monday's under-23 world individual time trial.
Doull added: "It's nice that my form is coming together and the timing is perfect for the worlds. I wasn't sure how I would go in the time trial on Monday, but I managed to freshen up pretty well and string together a good performance.
"My performance at the Tour of Britain was a surprise. I thought that if I had a really good race, maybe I could end up top 10 and get a few good stage placings, but to end up third overall, win the points jersey and be in the top 10 on every stage bar one, was great.
"It's nice to have that consistency and knowledge coming into the worlds that I'm on good form and can perform on most circuits. Hopefully I can turn all those third and fourth-place finishes at the Tour of Britain into a win at the worlds. That's the ultimate goal."
