Wiggins & Cavendish aiming for gold at Worlds

Bolstered by the new sponsorship support, Great Britain will be one of the favorites to win the men's Madison at the upcoming UCI Track Cycling World Championships on home turf at the Manchester Velodrome. Great Britain has nominated former Tour de France adversaries Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish for the event which is scheduled for Saturday, March 29.

The duo's goal will be to become the world champions as well as qualify for the Olympic Games. The 27 year-old Wiggins has already won three world championship titles in pursuiting and is the current Olympic champion in the individual pursuit. Cavendish is the High Road professional road sprinter whole exploded onto the scene last year, taking 11 victories in his rookie season.

The best teams are expected to ride in a fiercely contested race. Entries will be confirmed next week, but among the favorites will be Bruno Risi and Franco Marvulli, the Swiss pair who will be returning to defend the title they won in Palma last year. Last year's title, won in Mallorca, was the third for the duo. They also won the silver medal in the Madison in the Athens Olympics in 2004.

Other favorites include Spain's Joan Llaneras, who looks likely to be partnered with Carlos Torrent. Llaneras is the current points race World champion and has had a long and successful career on the boards. He has a winning history in Manchester too after he took the points crown there in 1996 and 2000. The Danish duo of Alex Rasmussen and Michael Morkov will be full of confidence after winning the Madison in the final round of the World Cup on home soil in Copenhagen last month.