Will Team GB’s cyclists repeat their domination of the Beijing Olympic Games in four years time at London 2012? There’s no doubt that Great Britain’s rivals will leave China feeling light years away from accumulating the medal tally that Nicole Cooke, Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins, Rebecca Romero et al have amassed since the 2008 Olympics began.

“I believe they’re the best resourced team,” Shayne Bannan, Australia’s head coach said. “That’s an area they have really looked at over the past six years. They’ve put a lot of time and energy and money into it. I know that they have got a very big budget, but it’s not all about money. The way they have managed that budget is a real credit to them.

“They have a central point in Manchester and the utilisation of resources is first class,” he said. “We struggle to get our better riders, whereas they have access to many of them full time. They have state of the art people working for them and they have got a great management system in place.”

Danish coach Heiko Salzwedel, who worked with Team GB until 2003, described the battle to keep up with Britain’s cyclists as “David against Goliath”.

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“It makes us \ look like a Mickey Mouse programme,” the German said. “But I admire them very much. I think the psychiatrist Steve Peters and Dave Brailsford have done a great job. It’s a complete team including the staff members, not just the cyclists.”

The difference, Salzwedel said, is very visible. “When you look into the British compound, everything is in order. There is no hectic atmosphere, there is a wealth of professionalism and there are specialists for everything.”

Salzwedel, who has also worked with the Germany and Australia federations, left British Cycling shortly before Brailsford stepped up from the role of consultant to Performance Director.

“Since I left British Cycling five years ago, there have been a lot of changes. We always used to joke that when the British get excited they say, ‘oh, that’s not bad…’ Now they get emotional, and they have developed a culture of dealing with each other, of dealing with problems, so it’s much more than just the money.”

And he rejected the suggestion that Team GB’s luxurious budget had effectively enabled them to buy Olympic gold. “It’s more than that, definitely,” he said. “There are certain things you cannot buy for any money in the world, such as commitment and team spirit. You can’t buy that. This is not only a bunch of colleagues, but a bunch of friends.”