DESPITE being 18th fastest in sprint qualification, Abergavenny speedster Becky James bowed out in the last 16 knockout stages at last weekend’s UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Hong Kong.

Ahead of Hong Kong, James explained to Sky Sports how she was relishing being back in a British jersey following her return to the individual sprint at the second of the season’s three World Cups, in New Zealand, in December following a long lay-off with a knee injury.

"For me to get back to a half decent level at back-to-back World Cups, in such a short space of time, is a massive confidence boost.

"I never thought I would get back to racing in World Cups, so it’s a huge bonus to race both New Zealand and Hong Kong and show some consistency.

"It was tough in New Zealand because it was hard to see how much the rest of the world have moved on and how much catching up I have to do."

The double 2013 world champion narrowly missed out on London 2012, and has her heart set on racing in the Rio Olympics in eight months’ time.

James explained, “I do ponder the Rio Olympics and World Championships in March, because its keeps pushing me every day to train hard.

"Missing out on London 2012 was tough, but I accepted it at the time and can see it was the right decision. Saying that, I don’t want to miss a second Olympics, so it’s a huge target to be there.”

The Great Britain Cycling Team travelled to Hong Kong looking to bag some important Olympic points. As James pointed out, “It’s an important weekend, but ultimately, it is mainly an opportunity to get the qualification points that the team need.”

There was disappointment for the women’s team sprint pairing of Jess Varnish and Katy Marchant, who were beaten by Rusvelo’s Daria Shmeleva and Anastasiia Voinova by over half-a-second in the final. Great Britain bagged third overall in the team pursuit world cup rankings with 674 points, behind winners Canada (870pts) and the USA (736pts).

Yet Great Britain gunned for glory on the final day as Laura Trott claimed omnium gold.