Britain was celebrating at the Track World Championships this weekend as cyclists Sir Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish triumphed in the madison and Laura Trott won a seventh career gold in the omnium.
"With less than five months to go until the start of the Olympics, the feelgood factor within British Cycling is back in the nick of time. Five golds, one silver and three bronzes left the host nation top of the medal table and Wiggins and Cavendish on top of the world," reports Tom Cary in the Daily Telegraph.
The win at the Lea Valley VeloPark was particularly significant for Cavendish, who is hoping to be part of the Olympic team but had failed to shine at the championships until Sunday.
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His gold with Wiggins means "the potential controversy over track cyclist selection for this summer's Games suddenly looks less tricky to negotiate," says Alyson Rudd in The Times. "While Wiggins had underlined here that he is an asset to the team pursuit, Cavendish had looked less comfortable until the mesmeric, thrilling madison ride in tandem with Wiggins."
Cavendish now looks likely to get the nod for the omnium event in Rio this summer and will by default earn a place in the team pursuit. However, he will have to sacrifice the closing stages of the Tour de France to prove that the Games are his priority, warns Rudd.
Trott, meanwhile, added a seventh world title to her portfolio with victory at the omnium to put some gloss on what has been a mixed event for Britain's women. There was disappointment for the sprint team, who failed to qualify for Rio, while the team pursuit ended in bronze.
But it was a "wonderful week" for Trott, says the BBC. Her gold in the scratch - a non-Olympic event - was Britain's first victory of the championships.
"She can take great confidence that she's covering all six omnium events incredibly well," said BBC analyst Sarah Storey.
