The PM Gordon Brown with a good selection of the GB Team's riders, including Rebecca Romero, with medal

Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited Manchester Velodrome last week to wish the Great Britain Cycling Team good luck in the forthcoming Olympics. Although the actual squad for Beijing has not yet been announced, the Prime Minister was keen to meet with riders and congratulate them for their record haul of 9 gold and 2 silver medals at the World Track Championship in Manchester earlier in the year.

Among the riders he met were Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish, Victoria Pendleton and Rebecca Romero, who showed off her World Championship Gold Medal. The Prime Minister was given a tour of the building and watched a sprint training session take place on the track.

The Manchester Velodrome is home to the Great Britain Cycling Team, many of whom have moved to live near the centre to benefit from it's state of the art facilities and world class coaching programme. The Velodrome opened in September 1994 and hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the Cycling World Championships in 1996, 2000 and 2008. As well as catering for Great Britain's elite riders the track is used by local cycling clubs and schools.