A childhood dream will come true for cyclist Josie Talbot, who will make her debut on a course that passes just metres from her home in Wollongong.
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The 26-year-old was officially named in the Australian team for the 2022 UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong.
Caleb Ewan was the big omission from the team announced on Friday by AusCycling.
The team was slated to be named on Tuesday but was pushed back because of rider appeals.
AusCycling performance executive general manager Jesse Korf could not divulge who the riders were due to privacy issues but stated that "there was appeals which were thorough and athletes were informed of the results".
The squad includes cyclists competing in the Elite and Under 23 categories for men and women, in the individual and team time trials, and the road races.
The Illawarra Mercury's special UCI columnist Rupert Guinness predicted selectors would pick sprinters Michael Mathews and Caleb Ewan to participate in the elite road race of the championships running from September 18 to 25. But only Matthews made the cut. The winner of nine Grand Tour stages headlines the Australian men's squad alongside Giro d'Italia winner Jai Hindley.
After claiming silver in the under-23 time trial last year, reigning national champion Luke Plapp will make his elite debut on the road.
Also joining the team will be Tour de France stage winners Ben O'Connor and Simon Clarke, 2011 under-23 world champion Luke Durbridge, 2015 national champion Heinrich Haussler, and Queensland climber Nick Schultz after his excellent Tour debut.
Plapp will contest the individual time trial as former world champion Rohan Dennis omitted himself from the squad due to family reasons.
All but two of Australia's all-conquering women's Birmingham Commonwealth Games team were selected.
Gold medallists Georgia Baker and Grace Brown will feature alongside Birmingham teammates Sarah Roy, Alexandra Manly and Brodie Chapman.
Experienced climber Amanda Spratt will return for her 10th appearance at a World Championships.
"We think we have a very exciting team to contest the world championships," Korf said.
AusCycling elite road coordinator Rory Sutherland said the interest from Australian cyclists for a home worlds "is huge".
"The amount of passion that we are seeing from the athletes and desire to compete in front of home crowds is something that we are incredibly proud of as well," he said.
"It is in the Australian DNA to have the pride to wear the green and gold, especially on a home field."
Sutherland said it was tough to leave Ewan out of the men's squad but the course was 'very demanding' and far from 'sprinter-friendly' as most expected it to be.
"It is a tricky one, I know that Caleb is specifically from the area but when you look at the course profile...it is a very demanding course," he said.
"If we speak specifically to the men's elite road race it is nearly 4000 metres of climbing on city circuits, which is hard .
"It is a hard course but with that it is going to create a very exciting race for the fans, for the people of Wollongong, for the people of Australia and for everybody watching outside Australia too."
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
