Mark Cavendish & Sir Bradley Wiggins named in GB Olympic cycling team

Mark Cavendish says he is not going to the Olympics "to collect kit" after being named in Britain's 26-strong track and road team for Rio.

Cavendish, who will ride in the omnium at his third Games, has yet to win a medal, while Sir Bradley Wiggins will chase an eighth at his fifth Olympics.

"I don't need any more track suits," Cavendish, 31, told BBC Sport.

"I'm aiming for gold but there are a lot of guys aiming for that. It will be good to go and I will do my best."

Cavendish, who won the non-Olympic madison world title with Wiggins earlier this year, will race in the Tour de France prior to competing in the six-event omnium in Rio and says combining training for the two has "taken its toll".

"It has been harder than I thought it would be," he said.

"To combine the road and the track - I always did it before - but track cycling has moved on so much that it is really specialist now. It is harder than I anticipated.

"It's been a hard year physically and emotionally and I just hope it will be worthwhile."

Wiggins, 36, is in the team pursuit quartet. He helped win gold in Beijing in 2008, silver in Athens four years earlier and bronze at the Sydney 2000 Games.

He has also won individual pursuit gold medals in 2004 and 2008 and madison bronze on the track in 2004. Wiggins switched to the road for London 2012, winning time trial gold.

Laura Trott will defend the women's omnium and team pursuit titles she won in London.

Two-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome leads a team of five in the road race, while Lizzie Armitstead is GB's main hope in the women's equivalent.

Britain failed to secure a place in the mountain bike or women's BMX competition but Kyle Evans and Liam Phillips will go for gold in the men's BMX, having both recovered from injury.

New appeal step

Earlier this week Dani King, a London 2012 gold medallist alongside Trott and Jo Rowsell in the team pursuit, described the selection process as "unfair" after she was omitted.

However, King may look to take advantage of a new route of appeal which has been opened to non-podium programme athletes.

Andy Harrison, who in April took over after technical director Shane Sutton left amid claims of sexism and discrimination towards elite cyclists, told BBC Sport: "We've announced the opportunity for an additional appeal step that we've worked in partnership with the BOA to announce.

"That is something that will get rolled out within the next few days.

"It was a very tough decision for the selection panel across all 26 of those places.

"I'm confident that the selection panel has come to the right conclusion."

Men's track squad: Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish, Jason Kenny, Philip Hindes, Callum Skinner, Owain Doull, Steven Burke, Ed Clancy, Ryan Owens.

Women's track squad: Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell-Shand, Becky James, Katy Marchant, Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker, Ciara Horne.

Men's road: Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome, Adam Yates, Peter Kennaugh, Ian Stannard.

Women's road: Lizzie Armitstead, Emma Pooley, Nikki Harris.

Men's BMX: Liam Phillips, Kyle Evans.