PONTHIR’S James Ball will compete for Great Britain at the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in March.

Visually-impaired Ball won double gold at last year’s World Championships in Los Angeles, topping the podium with pilot Matt Rotherham in the kilo and sprint.

Now joining forces with Peter Mitchell, he will attempt to repeat the trick in Rio before representing Wales at the Commonwealth Games in April.

It is a return to Brazil for ex-athletics sprinter Ball, who finished fifth in the tandem kilo after being given a last-minute call-up for the Paralympics in 2016.

Britain’s greatest female paralympian, Dame Sarah Storey, will make her comeback at the event.

Storey, who took a break from the sport following her triple gold medal success at the 2016 Paralympics to give birth to her second child, will be aiming to add to an incredible haul of 23 cycling world titles, competing in the 500 metre time trial, individual pursuit and scratch race.

Storey said: “I’m delighted to be back in the hunt for rainbow jerseys although I never expected to be back so quickly after Charlie’s arrival four months ago.

“We are going into the qualification period for Tokyo 2020 so I’m excited to start the build up for what will be my eighth Paralympic Games. I’m looking forward to seeing what the trip will bring.”

Storey is joined in the squad by a number of her fellow Rio 2016 gold medallists, including Jody Cundy, Jon Allan-Butterworth, Louis Rolfe, Steve Bate, Adam Duggleby, Sophie Thornhill, Helen Scott, Lora Fachie, Corinne Hall and Megan Giglia.

There will also be Great Britain Cycling Team debuts for Blaine Hunt and Katie Toft, who impressed at the HSBC UK National Track Championships in January.

The competition is the first step on the road to Tokyo 2020, with the event representing the first opportunity for the team to score vital Paralympic qualification points.

Great Britain Cycling Team programmes manager, Jon Pett, said: “The track world championships in Rio are the first major step on the team’s journey to Tokyo 2020 and all the riders and staff are looking forward to the competition.

“With qualification points up for grabs for the first time in this cycle, it’s vital that we hit the ground running and I’m very confident that we have a squad of riders that are capable of challenging for rainbow jerseys.

“It’s great to welcome Sarah back into the team for the first time since Rio, while it’s also excellent to add some new faces to the squad to freshen things up and provide some internal competition.

“Overall the team is in a great place and we’ll be working hard to ensure we have a very successful competition.”

GB team

Women: Lora Fachie & Corrine Hall, Sophie Thornhill & Helen Scott, Katie Toft, Megan Giglia, Crystal Lane-Wright, Sarah Storey.

Men: Steve Bate & Adam Duggleby, James Ball & Peter Mitchell, Neil Fachie & Matt Rotheram, Louis Rolfe, Ben Watson, Jody Cundy, Jaco Van Gass, Jon-Allan Butterworth, Blaine Hunt, Jon Gildea, William Bjergfelt