Mark Cavendish and Sir Bradley Wiggins to ride Madison at World Champs in London?

2008 Madison World Champions Mark Cavendish and Sir Bradley Wiggins could be reunited in that event at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in London next month, according the Guardian’s Will Fotheringham.

The pair raced the event at the Beijing Olympics the same year they won rainbow jerseys in it at Manchester but finished ninth, with Cavendish the only Team GB track cyclist to return without a medal from China, Wiggins having already taken gold in the team and individual pursuits.

They were back on the track together racing the Madison at the Revolution Series in Derby in August, rolling back the years to win the event.

> Mark Cavendish wins Madison with Sir Bradley Wiggins

Following changes to the track cycling programme ahead of the 2012 Games in London, the Madison is no longer an Olympic event, with the Omnium the only non-exclusively sprint discipline for individual riders.

Fotheringham says Cavendish is thought likely to be named in the squad when it is announced tomorrow, although it is not yet clear whether he will also race the Omnium, where he faces competition from London 2012 bronze medallist and 2010 world champion in the event, Ed Clancy.

The JLT-Condor rider has recovered from a back operation, while Team Wiggins rider Jon Dibben has also lodged a strong claim to be considered for the six-discipline event.

Cavendish rode the Omnium in the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Hong Kong last month, finishing fourth, and securing sufficient points to qualify for the World Championships at Lee Valley VeloPark.

The 30-year-old, who is in solid form on the road after winning last week’s Tour of Qatar, is missing an Olympic medal from his palmarès,  having started the road race in London four years ago as favourite but getting distanced by a big attack group on the final ascent of Box Hill.

> Mark Cavendish claims Tour of Qatar

He has made little secret of his desire to ride on the track at Rio this summer, something that led to tensions with manager Patrick Lefevere at his former Etixx-Quick Step team who insisted he should be concentrating on his duties as sprinter at races such as the Tour de France.

Doug Ryder, owner of Dimension Data, the South Africa-based UCI WorldTour team that Cavendish joined over the winter, has said he believes Cavendish can combine the road and track successfully this season.

Wiggins, who has won three Olympic gold medals on the track and was also victorious on the road in the individual time trial at London 2012, is seeking the fifth gold medal of his career as part of the team pursuit line-up in Rio.

While he can’t surpass Sir Chris Hoy’s record six gold medals for a British Olympian, a medal of any colour would see him surpass the Scot as the country’s most decorated athlete at the Games – each has seven medals at present.

The UCI Track World Championships take place from 2-6 March and full information is available on the event’s website.

Yesterday, Cavendish was photographed a couple of miles up the River Lea from the Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park at Tottenham Hale, where he stopped his car while on a Valentine’s Day date with wife Peta to help out a cyclist who had punctured.

> World champion to rescue as Cav fixes London cyclist’s puncture