Shane Sutton says he is ready to galvanise Great Britain’s cyclists and lead the charge to Rio after his squad finished tenth in the medal table the track cycling World Championships in Paris.
The final day of action saw Laura Trott win her third consecutive world silver in the omnium as she held off the challenge of Kirsten Wild in the points race,
The Olympic champion eventually finished on 176 points – 16 behind gold medallist Annette Edmondson of Australia.
There was disappointment elsewhere as Jess Varnish struggled to find her form and was eliminated from the keirin in the repechages and Owain Doull and Mark Christian finished ninth in the Madison.
And, while Sutton knows it will be difficult to recapture the form of London 2012, he is confident in his riders and believes they can shine in Rio.
“It’s a challenge that lies ahead and I’m confident we can do the business but it’s not going to be easy,” said the technical director.
“We raised the bar in this sport and it’s difficult to keep surpassing that. It’s not going to go on forever and we accept that.
“From my point of view nine months in, restructuring the team and trying to get everyone to Rio we’re settled back at base.
“We’re on track, it would have been nice to get a few more medals but it doesn’t always go your way.
“I’m not worried because I’ve got confidence in the team I’ve got around me. People will be worried but I trust in these athletes and I know we are competitive in a good seven medals in the track.
“It’s a matter of going back, looking at our detail, galvanising this unit and then driving this big juggernaut back into London and then into the Games.
“It is the road to Rio now and the plan has to be done. That’s a work in progress at the moment.”
While it might not have been an ideal end to proceedings for the team in Paris, Trott admits she was happy with silver.
The 22-year-old was third going into the final day but she clawed her way up to second with a fifth-place finish in the time trial and third in the flying lap.
“I was really happy,” Trott said.
“I guess some people are going to be like 'oh, she's only got silver', because that's what I got last year.
“But I am really happy with it. After the scratch race I'd never have imagined I was even going to get a medal.”
© Sportsbeat 2015