THE only way is. . . well, down probably. It is beyond the bounds of reason to accept that the British track cycling team can continue to dwell on the celestial plane of near-invincibility they found at the Beijing Olympics.
Such a profound dominance of a sport defies longevity. This week's World Championships in Pruszkow, Poland may reveal a few chinks of vulnerability.
For a start other nations, not least the Australians and French, will have studied the British app
roach in detail, and adopted key elements into their own preparation. Add in the competitive pique that comes from being so completely outclassed at the Olympics, and you have a scenario that suggests more concerted challenges to the British cyclists.
Physical and psychological wear and tear will also play their part. Sir Chris Hoy, sports personality of the year, greatest living Scotsman and somewhat ill-at-ease Bran Flakes ad star, misses the World Championships with a gruesome hip injury. Which means he will be spared having to explain himself to all those French riders he accused of eating pastries for breakfast. Rebecca Romero, one of the most dauntingly competitive athletes in any sport anywhere, is absent from the team weighing up career options, which may include making an Olympic bid in a third discipline after winning medals in a boat and on a bike. Bradley Wiggins, as impressive as Hoy, has decided to concentrate on road racing, opting to miss out on the major track championships before returning to the velodrome for the London Olympics.
The British team, though, has strength in depth, and a rather more successful academy than most football clubs.
Two young sprinters, Matt Crampton and David Daniell, feature in the team for Poland, with the 19-year-old Daniell already saddled with the epithet the "new Chris Hoy". He rides in Hoy's old speciality, the kilometre time trial, up against the defending champion Teun Mulder of the Netherlands. Most of the attention may fall on another teenager though, the American prodigy Taylor Phinney, who has emerged with world-class times in this event and the individual pursuit. Steven Burke, a surprise British silver in the pursuit behind Wiggins in Beijing, chases Phinney for a world title.
Crampton will probably take Hoy's place in the team sprint, alongside Beijing gold medallists Jamie Staff and Jason Kenny. The French won this event in Manchester last year before succumbing to the British in Beijing. With Hoy missing, the croissant addicts will fancy themselves to retain their title.
The French will also be confident of getting a gold in the men's keirin. Jason Kenny leads the British challenge in this event, although Ross Edgar, the Suffolk Scot who picked up silver behind Hoy in the Beijing keirin, will also welcome the chance to display his own world championship credentials again.
The men's team pursuit has seen the British quartet relentlessly grinding out gold medal and world record performances. Even without Wiggins, this is an event where the British strength in depth tends to be telling.
Mark Cavendish styles himself the "fastest man in the world" and backed up the claims last week on the roads, winning the Milan-San Remo classic. He called the spectacularly narrow win over the German Heinrich Haussler "the best day of my life." It's certainly a significant advance in his road-racing career, after winning four stages in the Tour de France last year. In that light, the velodrome seems almost an afterthought, with Thursday's scratch race and Saturday's Madison likely to be seen as intriguing tune-ups for a summer on the roads.
The women's team includes the peerless Victoria Pendleton, favourite for the sprint and the keirin. With Shanaze Reade, Pendleton has won both world championship team sprints since the event was inaugurated in 2007. Only the Australians look capable of stopping them making it three in a row.
In terms of raw medal counts, it would be surprising if the British team can equal the achievements of Manchester and Beijing last year. Instead the coaches will be intrigued to see if the world champions and Olympic gold medallists maintain the performance, focus and motivation of 2008. They will also be keen to see the newcomers step into the gaps left by Hoy, Wiggins and Romero and seize their opportunities.
Hoy, wincing a little at those hip twinges, will be watching, Bran Flakes to hand, half-hoping that he might have to fight to get back in this team.
