Gallery: Team GB training at the London Olympic velodrome
Thomas and Hoy test track ahead of World Cup
The Great Britain track team used one of their final training sessions to tune their form ahead of the London Olympic cycling test event. The event, which starts on Thursday with the team pursuit qualifying rounds doubles up as the final round of the UCI Track World Cup, however in an Olympic year, and with just a few months until the Games, all eyes are on London.
Still, the Great Britain team will put out of their strongest squads since the Beijing Games four years ago, with Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton Ben Swift and Geraint Thomas all competing in what team principal, Dave Brailsford has called a key marker event.
"Normally you go in to the final World Cup looking to tidy up any qualification points. It's normally not the biggest squad we'd send to a World Cup, there is quite a difference in the sense that it's here, it's a test event. It's in front of a home crowd. It's quite an interesting little challenge. You normally train through the last World Cup [ed in preparation for the Worlds]."
Over 380 athletes from around 40 nations will compete at the test event making it one of the biggest Olympic test events on LOCOG’s program. The Olympic velodrome was one of the first venues finished and its state of the art design.
The home team has obviously enjoyed more track time than their international rivals and Brailsford said that more time may have been available but that the squad's main base is in Manchester and remained the team’s principle base.
"I think to be fair to the organisers, if we wanted more time, we would have more. That's our choice. We decided how much time we want so i don't think there is any issue there. We could get more if we wanted it. Each squad is different. Each squad has different times. I couldn't tell you off the top of my head how much time we have got exactly. Different teams have looked at it and have decided on different amounts of time," he said.
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