Great Britain announced a young squad for the third and final round of the Track World Cup series yesterday, affording senior riders a break ahead of the Track World Championships.

Results at the London round earlier this month, particularly in the sprint events, left coaches reaching for their calculators to work out qualification points for February’s World Championships in Paris.

Britain won four gold medals in London and only two of the squad from this month’s event will travel to Cali, Colombia, for the third World Cup competition, which takes place from January 16 to 18.

Jess Varnish and Vicky Williamson will compete in the women’s sprint disciplines as part of a 16-rider squad which is made up predominantly of British Cycling’s Olympic Academy Programme riders.

British Cycling technical director Shane Sutton said: “I am pleased with how the team has performed so far in this World Cup cycle and we’re well on track as to where we want to be in terms of qualifying places for the Olympics.

“This has eased the pressure on us slightly and has enabled us to select a younger team for the final round, giving the academy an excellent opportunity to step up and race at this level.”