The march to Olympic track cycling glory takes one of two significant steps this weekend when the World Cup series, to the annoyance of some British officials, culminates in London.
Held in the Olympic velodrome from Thursday to Sunday and doubling as a test event for the Games, the 14-final competition is a serious stepping stone for the teams hoping to topple Britain from their Olympic pedestal.
Britain sped to seven of the ten gold medals on offer in Beijing four years ago, when Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and Bradley Wiggins became household names across the nation.
But since 2008, the once yawning gap between the Brits and the rest has narrowed considerably.
Australia have dominated some Olympic events, while making significant progress in others at world level in the intervening years and should be Britain's biggest challengers for the early season bragging rights.
With the next world championships being held in Melbourne in early April, Australia come to London hoping to get a taste for the recently-laid boards on which they hope to leave some markers for August.
"We'll be looking to win in London and stamp a bit of authority there and do the same thing at the worlds," said Australia's Jack Bobridge, the world record holder and champion in the individual pursuit who is the driving force in their four-man team event.
"It'll be great to get there, get some data and see what the track's like."
Teams from Germany, France and New Zealand, among others, will also be expected to go full throttle at the 250-metre track in which Hoy, a triple gold winner in Beijing, played a small but not insignificant role in designing.
The fact London is hosting the event, however, has not been welcomed by some. Britain's track team chief, Dave Brailsford, said in November any advantage gained from the Olympic velodrome was now lost.
"I'm a little bit miffed, if I'm honest, if I'm really, really honest," Brailsford told the BBC.
"To have a fully-blown World Cup as a test event when a lot of the other venues are using national championships - we're basically inviting the rest of the world in, and the opposition in."
Another factor Brailsford might want to consider is this: their rivals will be determined to make sure there is no repeat of what, for some, was a humiliating experience in Beijing.
Australia have again become a force in the coveted men's team pursuit, while France have regained control of the men's individual and team sprint events -- three events in which Britain are reigning Olympic champions.
Sunday will also be crucial for both England's Jason Kenny and Hoy as they take another step in their battle to secure the single individual sprint spot for the Games.
"I'm going for anything I can get. It's just racing at the end of the day," said Kenny, who will be awarded last year's sprint world title on Thursday following Frenchman Gregory Bauge's disqualification for missed doping tests.
"Racing Chris is like racing anyone else. It's no different from racing the French boys or the Aussies."
At last year's world championships in the Netherlands, Australian Anna Meares also beat British Olympic champion Pendleton to the coveted sprint gold for the first time.
Along with Lithuania's Simona Krupeckaite and Guo Shuang of China, they are expected to light up the women's match sprint tournament.