The acting head of British Cycling, Andy Harrison, has stressed that Mark Cavendish and Sir Bradley Wiggins have not fallen out.
Cavendish suggested earlier this week that Wiggins's desire "to be the hero" at the Olympics meant that he would not ride the team pursuit in qualification - the reason why he left the Tour de France early.
This, Cavendish went on to say, had inadvertently hampered his preparation for the omnium as racing all 21 stages of the Tour would have been of benefit to his omnium build-up.
The pair, reigning Madison world champions, have had their difficulties in the past, most notably in the aftermath of the 2008 Beijing Olympics when a fatigued Wiggins couldn't replicate his form in the Madison event alongside Cavendish and thus the duo failed to take a medal.
>>> Dave Brailsford: ‘Mark Cavendish deserves an Olympic medal’
This latest supposed rift, however, has been downplayed by Harrison who claims he hasn't noticed any problems in recent weeks.
"For the last two or three weeks Brad and Cav have been very much in close proximity with each other, they roomed together [at the training camp] in Newport for two weeks, they’ve sat next to each other at training over the last couple of days and observing them in the village there’s no issues," Harrison, who replaced Shane Sutton in readiness for the Games, told the Guardian.
Ed Clancy explains the omnium
"These are two of the greatest riders Britain has ever produced and they’ve both got big personalities and, to be honest, I’m more interested in what they do on the bike rather than what they say in public."
Qualification for the team pursuit begins on Thursday evening when the quartet of Wiggins, Ed Clancy (looking to become the first ever rider to win three team pursuit Olympic golds), Owain Doull and Steven Burke take to the boards in Rio.
The final, which Britain are expected to contest against Australia, will be on Friday evening.
Cavendish begins his omnium campaign on Sunday, concluding on Monday.
Training sessions inside the velodrome on Wednesday pointed towards a new team pursuit world record of around 3.48, slicing more than three seconds off the current benchmark, set by GB four years ago in London.
-
-
Seven reasons the Stages Bike is the perfect upgrade from a smart trainer
Stages Bike SB20 gives you a better indoor riding experience
By Paul Norman •
-
British men just miss out on Madison medal as Mørkøv gets gold for Denmark on final day of Roubaix Track Worlds
Katie Archibald also took silver in the points race, her fourth medal of these Championships
By Jonny Long •
-
British Cycling announces plans to grow BMX freestyle after Tokyo, including national competition structure
The hope is to produce future medallists after the success of British freestylers in Japan
By Jonny Long •
-
Lotus x Hope HB.T: Team GB's track bike in detail
British Cycling's UKSI bike is a thing of legend, so when Hope dropped the new British track bike on us at the end of 2019 we knew we had to go and take a closer look at the story behind it.
By Michelle Arthurs-Brennan •
-
British Cycling told riders 'not to divulge details' of 100-person Manchester training event
The governing body has defended the 'simulated Olympic competition' as being within the government lockdown guidance
By Jonny Long •
-
British Cycling announces staffing restructure in men's sprint team for Tokyo Olympics
British Cycling have announced a staff restructure of the men's sprint team after the dismissal of Kevin Stewart in late 2020 due to gross misconduct
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
British Cycling to receive £35 million for Paris 2024 Olympics
This is £10 million more than British Cycling received for the Tokyo cycle
By Jonny Long •
-
British Cycling women’s team pursuit coach quits
The women’s team pursuit coach has quit the squad, just months out from the Tokyo Olympics.
By Alex Ballinger •
-
This is how the British Olympic team practice social distancing track starts
For the British Olympic team, 2020 has no doubt been year of uncertainty and frustration.
By Alex Ballinger •
-
British Olympic squad back to training on the track after lockdown lay-off
The British Olympic team have returned to the track after they were forced to take a break due to coronavirus.
By Alex Ballinger •
