London 2012 Olympics: Geraint Thomas right on track in his pursuit of Games glory in blue riband event

As Britain’s Geraint Thomas graphically puts it: “Don’t go searching for the pain, it will find you.”

Britain will be defending champions at the Olympics and the squad will find out how they are matching up to their rivals at the Samsung World Cup in the London Velodrome this weekend, with qualifying beginning on Thursday night.

Thomas and his colleagues have been working harder than ever since the middle of November when they embarked on a brutal five-week boot camp at the Manchester Velodrome, retreating to a converted changing room after each of the three daily ­sessions to flop out on bean bags, force down the 8,000 ­calories a day they needed to sustain such a regime and sleep.

Their efforts are both understandable and vital. With due respect to sprinters Sir Chris Hoy and Vicky Pendleton, the team pursuit is still the sport’s blue riband event and Britain face a huge challenge to defend their gold medal in London.

Australia have been the dominant team since the 2008 Olympics while New Zealand and a cash-rich Russian squad have taken up the challenge with a vengeance. Denmark normally step up a level in Olympic year as well.

Thomas is probably the key rider for Great Britain – without the Welshman at his best at the Olympics it is difficult to see how they could reel in the resurgent Australians. But happily he is inspired by the prospect of a home Olympics and has interrupted his burgeoning road career to ­prepare.

The pursuit is the one area of track cycling that links directly to road racing: excel at the former and you will stand an excellent chance of prospering in the latter. But his decision to take a break from the road still seemed a huge call. He begs to differ.

“It was an easy decision,” said Thomas, who was the youngest member of the triumphant Great Britain quartet in Beijing. “A home Olympic Games means a lot to me and the team pursuit is the best chance I have of winning an Olympic gold medal.

“Obviously the road is in the back of my mind. I did well last year and want to keep that progression but, at the same time, an Olympic gold medal at a home Games is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Luckily long road rides and the occasional race are not unrelated to training for the team pursuit and Thomas has already enjoyed a little 'break-out’, riding for Team Sky at the Tour Down Under last month while, after this World Cup event, he will set his sights briefly on next month’s Paris-Nice when he will be aiming for victory in the prologue before switching into a team role.

The Giro d’Italia is another possibility for both him and his Sky colleagues Peter Kennaugh and Ben Swift. Thomas and Bradley Wiggins both benefited in 2008 from a huge block of hard miles in the Giro, which transferred brilliantly on to the track a few months later.

“Training for track is completely different to the road,” Thomas said. “With track you live on top of each other really and the coach is on your back 24/7 telling you when to eat, when to train, what times to be doing.

“It’s like being back at school really. On the roads you are left much more to your own devices. the support is there but it’s on the end of the phone. I suppose it’s the regular racing I miss most of all, that’s the most enjoyable part of cycling.”

The competition for places in the GB team is tougher than ever this year although, with Sam Harrison sidelined with a knee injury, Great Britain are now down to a core squad of six – Ed Clancy, Stephen Burke, Kennaugh, Thomas, Swift and Andy Tennant for this event. Swift and Tennant miss out on Thursday night.

“In Beijing, there were only four of us really,” Thomas said. “Burky was there on the fringes but he was young and hadn’t really done a team pursuit before . A bigger squad is better, it keeps everyone on their toes. Even the process to get here for the World Cup was tough. It was touch and go who they were going to put in the team. That’s big for us, nobody can be complacent.”

Publicly the riders all say it is early days but privately one and all would “love to smash the Aussies up” – to borrow a phrase from the ever-combative Thomas – this weekend.

The pursuit squad

Ed Clancy 26
Olympic gold medal winner in 2008. Unofficial team captain. World’s best lead-out man

Geraint Thomas 25
Won Olympic gold in 2008. Quick, but also possesses the massive endurance of a big tour rider. The engine of the squad.

Stephen Burke 23
Bronze medallist at 19 in the individual pursuit in Beijing. The only rider anywhere near Clancy in terms of pure speed.

Peter Kennaugh 22
Isle of Man prodigy who grew up riding and training with Mark Cavendish. Prodigious talent.

Ben Swift 24
Hugely talented all-rounder. Five world tour wins on the road for Sky last year.

Andy Tennant 24
Former world junior pursuit champion and silver medallist in the team pursuit at the 2009 World Championships.