GB Olympic cycling team to be announced this afternoon

British Cycling will make an announcement at 1.30pm this afternoon to reveal the Team GB cyclists who will take part in the London 2012 Olympic Games this summer.

Hopes are running high that Britain's cyclists will repeat their medal haul from the Beijing 2008 Games, where they came away with 14 medals, eight of which were gold.

Many of those gold medallists are set to return to defend their Olympic titles on home soil.

Olympic gold medallists Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Geraint Thomas, Ed Clancy, Bradley Wiggins, Jason Kenny and Nicole Cooke are all expected to make the list of riders.

They will be joined by new gold medal prospects such as road rider Lizzie Armitstead, track rider Laura Trott, mountain biker Annie Last and BMXer Shanaze Reade.

Road race favourite Mark Cavendish should head up a strong squad for the men's event, and it will be interesting to see whether David Millar will be selected after the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the British Olympic Association's lifetime ban for convicted doping offenders.

Also in the frame for selection are Dani King, Joanna Rowsell (women's team pursuit), Peter Kennaugh, Steven Burke, Andy Tennant (men's team pursuit), Chris Froome, Ian Stannard, Jeremy Hunt, Ben Swift (men's road race), Sharon Laws, Lucy Martin, Katie Colclough (women's road race), Jess Varnish (women's team sprint), Philip Hindes (men's team sprint), Emma Pooley (women's road race and time trial), Liam Killeen (mountain bike) and Liam Phillips (BMX - subject to recovering from recent injury).

The London 2012 Olympic Games run from July 27 to August 12. The first cycling event - the men's road race - takes place on July 28.

Cycling Weekly will be bringing you news of the full list when it is published this afternoon.

Related links

London 2012 Olympic Games news section