With 421 days to go until the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, members of the Great Britain Cycling Team have now been given access to the HSBC UK National Cycling Centre to resume individual training in line with the Government’s “5 Steps To Resumption Of Elite Sport - UK” framework.

Twelve riders returned to individual training yesterday, spread out across the velodrome, gym and BMX track, following extensive risk assessments, thorough checks and new protocols designed to mitigate any risk of infection.

Performance Director Stephen Park said: “As with everything we do, our performance planning for return to training was focused on the welfare of our riders and staff and we worked incredibly hard to ensure we were excellently prepared for a safe return.

“Pre-screening health checks before entering the building, one-way systems and individual rider pens spread out around the velodrome track centre are just a few of the measures we’ve implemented, and Government guidelines are strictly adhered to at all times. We have a medical officer and a COVID-19 officer on-site at all times to oversee training activity, and we will be continually monitoring plans over the coming days and weeks.

“We have been clear from the outset that any return to training within the HSBC UK National Cycling Centre would be voluntary for both riders and staff, with anyone having the choice to opt out if there was any reason they weren’t comfortable. At this early stage of return, we are only supporting access to riders who are on a Tokyo trajectory and the facility is only to be used for training which cannot be completed from home.

“Our mountain bikers have also returned to training outdoors, receiving one-to-one coaching while respecting social distancing guidelines, and we are now working hard to support access to a training centre for our BMX freestylers, following the same processes we used for returning to the HSBC UK National Cycling Centre.

“The date for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games may have changed, but our ambitions for success have not, and I’m really proud of the project team who are working diligently on our return to training plan to support the riders’ progressive transition back to full-time training, when the time is right.”