Olympics: Cavendish Unlikely to Race in Individual Pursuit

British cycling's summer sensation, four-times Tour de France stage winner Mark Cavendish is unlikely to take Great Britain's second slot in the men's 4,000m individual pursuit alongside the defending champion Bradley Wiggins, his team indicated yesterday.

If this is the case, last week's tests at the Manchester velodrome after the 23-year-old sprinter returned from racing circuit events in Belgium probably indicated that the Manx cyclist did not manage perform to his own high expectations. He was said to have been aiming for a time around 4min 20sec.

Cavendish, who flies into Beijing on Tuesday, is down to race the Madison relay with Wiggins on the last day of track competition, August 15. The pair are defending world champions and will start as favorites.

If Cavendish is not named as Team GB's second rider in the pursuit, that will leave the management with a dilemma over who to name to fill the slot, awarded to the team after Wiggins took the world title in Manchester in March.

Geraint Thomas of Wales has been posting impressive times in training – most notably a 4min 17sec ride, which is at the level of the top two, in qualifying at the world championships in Manchester – but there are worries that if he races the individual event it might dull his legs for the following morning's qualifier in the team event.

Another option would be the youngest member of the endurance squad, Steven Burke, while the points race specialist Chris Newton could also step up, although neither would be regarded as contenders for a medal.