Geraint Thomas hopes time is right for twin targets

Tour de France runner-up Geraint Thomas will double at the World Championships after being selected for both the individual time trial and the road race when the event starts in Yorkshire next week.

Thomas is joined on the TT course by Alex Dowsett and heads up a road race team including Owain Doull, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Ian Stannard, Ben Swift and Adam Yates.

And 33-year-old Thomas is confident he can push for overall glory in the former event. He said: “The TT is the big goal for me. I’ll be doing all I can to get in the best shape there.

“I’m enjoying having a goal at the end of the year. I’ve only finished the Worlds once, back in 2011, when Mark Cavendish won, and after that, for one reason or another, I’ve never gone well at the end of September. Hopefully, this will be the first time to do that.”

Britain’s team for the women’s road race will be headed up by Lizzie Deignan, who will be bidding to win the title for a second time on home roads just a year after giving birth.