Lawson Craddock: USA rider ‘disappointed’ to miss UCI World Championships after visa arrives 20 minutes too late

USA rider Lawson Craddock has revealed that he won't compete at the UCI World Championships this year because his Australian visa arrived 20 minutes too late. Craddock was due to represent his country in the individual time trial, road race and mixed team relay, but couldn’t travel to Wollongong due to bureaucratic issues.

Ad “Unfortunately, due to visa issues I will not be attending the UCI World Championships in Australia this year," he wrote in a statement. Tour of GuangxiGaviria’s hot streak continues in China21/10/2017 AT 10:08 «Complications during the process caused my visa to be delayed and it wasn’t until about 20 minutes after my flight departed for Australia (without me on it) that it was finally approved.

»While it still would have been physically possible to make it in time to Australia for the TT tomorrow, I wasn’t confident that it would allow me enough time to recover enough from the Vuelta, travel, and jet lag to allow me to put my best performance out on the road. “Disappointed with how things turned out in the end, but I’m looking forward to ending the season on a high note with BikeExchange-Jayco." Rider ratings: Five-star Evenepoel leads Ganna in time trial field Rider ratings: Van Dijk and Reusser out to stop Van Vleuten in time trial Ganna ready for 'pure suffering' as he reveals Hour Record bid According to Cycling News, Craddock filed his visa application well over a month ago and the reason for the hold-up in granting it is unclear.

The USA team will now be left with five riders for the road race, as there is no time to call in a replacement for Craddock. Neilson Powless will now compete in the time trial along with Magnus Sheffield, while the rest of the team is made up of Kyle Murphy, Keegan