Cycling: Callum Skinner to make Beijing senior debut

Capital cyclist Callum Skinner will make his senior debut for Great Britain at next week’s penultimate round of the UCI World Cup in Beijing.

The 19-year-old is listed in a youthful British squad featuring six male endurance riders, two female sprinters and three male sprinters – Skinner will share the sprinting duties with Pete Mitchell and Phillip Hindes.

Meanwhile, Skinner’s City of Edinburgh clubmate Charline Joiner faces a tough start to the new year when she lines up at the Rotterdam Six-Day Meeting tonight. The 23-year-old, who won team sprint silver with her clubmate Jenny Davis at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, has now switched to endurance racing.

Joiner, who found the going tough last year after deciding to move away from sprinting, will be looking to feature more prominently after a full year of training under her belt.

She is joined in the 16-strong field by world class riders and three other Britons with the women’s events being contested as an omnium featuring scratch, points and elimination races on each of the six days.