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The British team go in to today?s junior and under-23 European track championships in Poland with no pressure, but a wealth of back-up behind them.

?It?s very much early days in their careers so we keep expectations very much in check,? sprint coach Iain Dyer told cyclingweekly.co.uk. ?Some of the riders have done the Europeans before and for others it?s their first taste, so we just ask them to do their best.?

?Success at a junior level is down to a few different things including physical maturity so we don?t place a lot of expectation on them. What we?re trying to accomplish is preparing them for a senior career. We?re not chasing medals, we?re chasing development further down the road.?

All 378 competitors face a busy schedule as both the junior and under-23 events are crammed in to five days. Five medals will be decided today, with the British juniors going for gold in the team pursuit. The sprinters go in the (under-23) kilometre time trial where British hopes rest on David Daniell and Christian Lyte.

Click here for the schedule>>

They will face stiff competition in the sprint events as both Maximillian Levy of Germany and Kevin Sireau of France are present after their strong showing at the Olympics

The championships also acts as a test event for next year?s world championships that will be held on the BGZ arena on the outskirts of Warsaw. ?They?ve been building around us, but they?ve done a fantastic job,? Dyer said.

The stadium had been bidding against Manchester for the 2008 worlds, but ran out of funds part way through construction. The Polish government then stepped in to help on the understanding that major championships would be held here. ?It?s beautifully constructed and it?s a great facility. They?ve built dormitory facilities in the track so it?s going to be a big platform for the Polish team," said Dyer.

RELATED LINKS

CW's Olympics homepage

Pursuit women take fifth gold medal

Jo Rowsell's gold is the toast of Sutton cycling club

Burke blasts to new PB in individual pursuit

EXTERNAL LINK

European championships website

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Simon Richardson
Magazine editor

Editor of Cycling Weekly magazine, Simon has been working at the title since 2001. He fell in love with cycling 1989 when watching the Tour de France on Channel 4, started racing in 1995 and in 2000 he spent one season racing in Belgium. During his time at CW (and Cycle Sport magazine) he has written product reviews, fitness features, pro interviews, race coverage and news. He has covered the Tour de France more times than he can remember along with two Olympic Games and many other international and UK domestic races. He became the 130-year-old magazine's 13th editor in 2015.