Great Britain will be one of the favourites to win the men’s Madison at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships which starts in Manchester next week. The early team nominations throw up some big names for the crazy high speed tag-team event where bike handling skills are essential.

The GB team have nominated former Tour de France adversaries Bradley Wiggins (Maida Vale) and Mark Cavendish (Isle of Man) for the men’s Madison which takes place on Saturday. The duo’s goal will be to win the tough event against other top international teams who also have their eyes on the special rainbow striped jerseys reserved for World champions. There is an extra target in Manchester this time too with all the nations aiming for qualification at the Olympic Games in the specialised race later this year.

Wiggins is still only 27-years-old but has already won three World titles in pursuiting and is the current Olympic champion in the individual pursuit. Cavendish is the High Road professional roadman sprinter whole exploded onto the professional scene last year, taking 11 victories on the road in his rookie season.

The best teams are expected to ride in this fiercely contested race but final entries will be confirmed next Tuesday. Bruno Risi and Franco Marvulli are returning to defend the title they won in Palma last year. The Swiss pair took their third World title in the race in Mallorca last year and also won the silver medal in the event in the Athens Olympics in 2004.

The winner of the Madison could also come from a number of countries including Spain and Denmark.

Spain’s Joan Llaneras looks likely to be partnered with Carlos Torrent. Llaneras is the current points race World champion and has had a long and successful career on the boards. He has a winning history in Manchester too after he took the points crown there in 1996 and 2000. The Danish duo of Alex Rasmussen and Michael Morkov head to Manchester full of confidence after they won the Madison in the final round of the World Cup on home soil in Copenhagen last month.