Rebecca Romero feels it was inevitable Great Britain would produce exciting new cycling talents such as Laura Trott and Dani King for London 2012 off the back of the success the team enjoyed at the Beijing Olympics.
Romero won gold in the individual pursuit in China in 2008 as part of a team which came home with a total of eight gold medals from the track and road. Since then, a variety of factors have meant the 32-year-old will now not be competing at the Games this summer.
Her events from Beijing - she was also in the points race - were dropped from the Olympic programme and new rules stipulated that athletes participating in the road time-trial in which she was considering competing would also have to take part in the road race.
The Surrey-born rider switched her attention back to the track and the team pursuit but found herself down the pecking order behind the likes of Trott, 19, and King, 21.
The pair are current world champions and tipped for stardom by Romero, who feels they have benefited from the natural "trickle down" effect that comes from Olympic success.
"Having success within a team means that when you get those gold medals and those performances, it trickles down," Romero, who switched to cycling after winning a rowing silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, told Press Association Sport.
"There is the infrastructure, financial support, experience and knowledge and it trickles down to other athletes so they are able to perform as well. I experienced it when I was a young athlete, with the amazing stars like Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent, James Cracknell and those on the women's side in rowing.
"When you have got that success, as an athlete when you are training with those people or you are the next generation coming up, you realise 'yes, I can do that as well', and you get all the support that comes with those successes as well.
"It is the same within the cycling team. We had the success we had in Beijing and then that goes down into the lower levels of the sport and great athletes come through, like Laura Trott and Dani King, who are immense talents and really deserve their successes.
"It will be tough for them to experience their first Olympic Games, but those girls have got great character and great mental resolve, and I think they are real stars for the future with great careers ahead of them."
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