A SOUTH Lakeland road cyclist has been selected to represent Great Britain in the elite men's UCI Road World Championships this weekend.

James Knox, 22, from Levens, will join competitors from all over the globe at Innsbruck, in Austria, for eight gruelling days of racing starting on Sunday.

The route looks set to be one of the toughest in history, with organisers of the event including some big climbs in the elite men’s road race. It will cover more than 5,000 metres of climbing over a distance of 265 kilometres.

James will be in illustrious company as joining him in the team is Simon Yates, who only on Sunday won the prestigious Vuelta a Espana, Ian Stannard, winner of stage seven of this year’s Tour of Britain and reigning national champion Connor Swift. Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas will not be competing after talks with selectors.

James, who used to run competitively on the fells for Helm Hill, said the course was perfectly suited to his abilities.

"I feel incredibly proud and fortunate to be representing Great Britain team in my first year in the senior ranks," said James, who competes for Belgium-based Quick-Step Floors.

"It feels s like a massive milestone in my career and also a bit hard to believe when I consider I only started racing in 2012.

"This year is perhaps the hilliest world championship course for as long as I can remember and is suited perfectly to my abilities.

"Everything fell into my place for my selection. My form in the most recent months has been good including a sixth place finish at the Tour De Wallonie, 19th in the Clasica San Sebastian and just last Sunday I was 23rd at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. And on top of that big GB stars Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome have decided to skip this year's event after a busy programme previously in the year.

"It will be a hugely difficult race and not one I could ever realistically win. My goals will be to stay in the race as long as possible and help the Yates twins - Simon and Adam - of Bury, as much as possible, as they aim to take the win."

James has represented GB in the junior and under-23 ranks at a number of events but this will be his elite team debut. Back in his running days he was under 13 national cross country champion in 2009.

GB performance director Stephen Park said: “British riders have excelled themselves on the road this season at all levels and it’s been a pleasure to watch them in action.

“We’ve selected a strong team to take on this year’s world championships, and there’s a lot of talent within the squad."