91Èȱ¬

The next time we see Great Britain's track cyclists in action will be inside the Olympic Velodrome at London 2012.

There are no more chances left. The World Championships in Melbourne, which ended on Sunday, were the last opportunity for riders to stake a claim for Olympic selection or gain a psychological advantage over their rivals.

Sir Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny, Victoria Pendleton, Laura Trott and others can expect the nation's attention when they ride at the Games. But who will be the stars and who might struggle?

91Èȱ¬ Sport cycling reporter Jill Douglas, 91Èȱ¬ summariser Chris Boardman and from Australian broadcaster SBS cast their eye over the big developments.

Jason Kenny beat Sir Chris Hoy in the men's sprint semi-finals, losing to France's Gregory Bauge in the final. Hoy beat Kenny to Olympic gold in 2008 but rule changes mean Britain can only enter one rider, either Hoy or Kenny, at London 2012.

Jill Douglas: Kenny beat Hoy but there was very little between them when they raced each other. Hoy pointed out he was the faster man in qualifying, and he would say that this year he has had the better of Kenny overall, apart from at this Worlds.

Britain needs someone who can beat Gregory Bauge come the Olympics. Kenny has so much speed and will be a tough competitor in London; Hoy has raw power. If I were picking right now I would select the one most capable of beating Bauge - that will take somebody with incredible power.

Chris Boardman: This week's results have made the situation between Hoy and Kenny even more complicated. Kenny has put himself back in pole position at the last in terms of performances, and you can now make extremely credible arguments in either direction.

The selectors will also take into account how these two deal with pressure and how they maintain consistency under the kind of expectation they're going to face in London. That factor weighs heavily in Hoy's favour.

Hoy has already indicated he'd like a decision to be made sooner rather than later so he can focus on his events. The coaches may heed that, but they have a right to wait almost up until the day of the Olympic race, to get the latest and most up-to-date information.

Pendleton took a battering in her sprint semi-final against Australian rival Anna Meares but came through to win gold.

Jill Douglas: For sheer emotion and drama this was right up there. Pendleton crashed in her first ride during her semi-final with Anna Meares, so hard and at such high speed that the velodrome shuddered as she came down.

Over the course of that semi-final Meares tried to intimidate her and she retaliated. That was a very, very important ride in Pendleton's World Championships and probably in her Olympic year.

But she hasn't had the best form coming into these Worlds and this wasn't her best performance. She was almost slightly embarrassed to win this, I think. While the win will give her confidence and shows she is a tough competitor, I hope it doesn't make her think she is further on than is actually the case.

Chris Boardman: The reason Pendleton won is that Meares tried to push her around the track and that was the emotional trigger for Pendleton to fight back.

But she is still lacking a bit of speed and British Cycling need to be careful the result here doesn't mask that. Having spoken to her coach, I know they're aware of that.

Sophie Smith: The rivalry between Meares and Pendleton is fantastic for Australians, too. Meares said that semi-final, which she eventually lost, was the most difficult race to come back from emotionally. A day later, she put it behind her to win an emotional keirin gold on her home turf.

Anna Meares desperately wants that sprint crown at London 2012. She knows Pendleton's six world titles in 10 years is huge, but that is the one she will really go for at the Games.

Great Britain topped the medal table for Olympic events at the World Championships, winning five gold medals to second-placed Australia's three.

Chris Boardman: The British team as a whole is in better condition than I thought it was, just slightly better than forecast for these World Championships and leading the Olympic medal table here.

Every country has areas they can improve, but the strength in depth now is greater than it has ever been. We have never before seen anything like a championships where somebody can produce a 9.9-second ride in the men's sprint and finish 10th in qualifying.

This is going to be a big fight with a lot of people involved: great to watch, but horrible to ride.

Sophie Smith: I think London 2012 will be a very different story to the Australian track cycling disappointment of Beijing 2008.

Team pursuits? I'm confident. Omnium? I'm confident. Shane Perkins has a chance in the sprint, Anna Meares is very hungry, her and Kaarle McCulloch were unbeatable in the team sprint here again.

There is nothing sweeter than beating the Brits, that rivalry is the biggest in this sport, and Australia will be up there.