Great Britain’s track cyclists will once again return to the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales in Newport, for their pre Olympics training camp.

The squad has gathered at the Welsh arena ahead of every Olympics since Athens 2004.

‘It’s our second home,’ British Cycling’s team head of performance support Paul Mullan told venue operators Newport Live. Clearly he isn’t counting the team’s recent stay at the Derby track during refurbishment of the National Cycling Centre in Manchester.

‘In normal times we’re apart from each other, so it’s the place we come together, to connect, to focus. The Newport magic has helped us win for years.’

Newport has been named as the venue for DerbyWheel’s much-delayed test event, now expected a few weeks after the Paris games. It is also in contention to be the circuit’s northern hemisphere base, when ‘regular season’ competition begins later in 2024.

Members of the public have been invited to attend an open training session on the afternoon of July 29; free tickets can be obtained from Newport Live’s ticketing website.