Back on track: The other Bradley dreams of Olympic gold

Injury has hampered the recent career of Brad McGee, but it appears that the talented Australian may be on course for a return to top form. Cyclingnews Shane Stokes spoke to the 32-year-old and found him to be calm, confident and thoroughly enjoying his sport.

It's been a few years since Australian Bradley McGee displayed the kind of form which earned him prologue victories in the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and top results on the track, including Olympic gold and a world championship. Plagued by a nagging injury for the past few years, McGee finally found the answer to his medical woes this year, and went on to put in a solid showing at the world track championships in Manchester.

After finishing fifth in the individual pursuit and being part of the four-man squad which got bronze medals in the team pursuit, McGee was all smiles when talking the day after his final event. This was despite the fact that many might consider those performances to be a step back for a rider who has been world champion and Olympic silver medallist in the individual pursuit, as well as an Olympic champion in the team event.

"The worlds has been great," he enthused to Cyclingnews. "I knew I wasn't on my top form. But it is March, I had just a week with the boys in Bordeaux before coming here to do something on the track, and I really believe I got everything that was in my legs out in the competition. That's always a good thing. It has set me up with some good motivation for the next couple of months."

McGee's individual pursuit qualifying time of 4 minutes 20.43 seconds was over four seconds off the pace set by Jenning Huizenga (Netherlands), and saw him miss out on the bronze medal ride off. He's got over four months before Beijing, though, and is optimistic that he can raise his game significantly.

"It's definitely possible," he said. "It doesn't take much... a slight gain in power gives you a slight gain per lap, and if you project that over 16 laps then you are certainly going a lot faster. I know what to do, we are fine-tuning a plan that we have already set out, so we'll see."

Click here to read the full interview with Bradley McGee.