Britain's Jamie Staff has yet to decide whether to defend his Olympic title at London 2012.
Olympic gold medallist hoping his legs will last until London Games
Britain's Jamie Staff has yet to decide whether to defend his Olympic title at London 2012.
The 35-year-old joined Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny in the British sprint team that beat France by half a second to claim gold at last year's Beijing Games.
But Staff will be 38 by time the next Olympics come around and he insists he will not allow his emotions to cloud his judgement about whether to compete.
"Winning an Olympic gold was my dream and having the Olympics in London is a fantastic thing for the country," he said. "Every time I've raced in Britain, the crowd really get behind you and it spurs you on.
"If I do get to London it will definitely be my last race and obviously you want to go out on a high so there's quite a few factors to look at.
"I'll be monitoring my ability and my fitness in the lead-up to London and I'll only get on the start line if I think I've got a really good chance of winning.
"I don't want to come away from the event disappointed. From the mental side of it, I think I'll be able to do it. I just hope these legs can keep going."
Experience
If he does make it, however, Staff firmly believes his experience can benefit the sprint team, particularly given the increased expectations after seven golds in China.
"As you get older you become more able to learn to cope with the demands and the pressures of the sport," he said.
"The Olympics can bring so much emotion and stress and I do have means of coping with that.
"As you get older, it gets easier. Having experienced two Olympics now, that would be much easier for me."
France gained revenge for their Olympic defeat at the World Championships, without Hoy in Britain's line up, but Staff and his colleagues have no time to wallow.
Instead, they have the national championships to contend with and the World Cup in Manchester, which will take place at the end of October, as they look to secure qualification for the cycling world championships next year in March.
