Jody Cundy, Sophie Thornhill, Neil Fachie and Rachel James have all been included in the squad, which also features debutants Steve Bate, Adam Duggleby, Megan Giglia, Sally Hurst and Liz Saul.

Cundy broke the world record on his way to claiming the 1-kilometre time trial title at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, where he was also part of the gold-medal winning men's sprint team.

Thornhill is a double world champion with pilot James in the tandem sprint and 1km time trial events, while Fachie triumphed in the 1km time trial at London 2012.  

The three-day event, which is scheduled to take place between January 30 and February 1 at the Wales National Velodrome in Newport, is in just its second year and counts as a qualifying event for track cycling at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

The only noticeable absentee from the squad is Dame Sarah Storey, who announced last month that she will be attempting to break the women's hour world record on February 28. 

The five-time Paralympic gold medallist is set to make her attempt during the Revolution Series event at the Lee Valley VeloPark on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. 

"The Newport Para-cycling International is a key event for us and as such we're sending a full squad with the exception of Dame Sarah Storey who has chosen to focus on her hour record attempt," Jon Norfolk, head coach for the Great Britain Para-cycling team, said.

"With this being a qualifying event for Rio, the riders are all keen to put in a strong performance to start momentum.

"It's also a good opportunity to see how we measure up against the rest of the world at this moment in time to identify the areas we need to work on and to help shape our preparations for 2016."

Sophie Thornhill is a double world champion with pilot Rachel James ©Getty Images



Jonny Clay, British Cycling's cycle sport and membership director, added: "We are delighted to be working with UK Sport and Newport City Council again to bring international Para-cycling competition back to Wales and provide our athletes with this invaluable opportunity to gain qualification points for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

"After the success of last year's inaugural event, which saw the Great Britain cycling team enjoy a fantastic medal haul, we can expect to see some great racing over the three days as the international athletes attempt to seize this opportunity to gain qualification points for Rio."

Craig MacLean, Jon Gildea, Crystal Lane, Louis Rolfe, Lora Turnham, Lauryn Therin and Jaco van Gass make up the remainder of the team.

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