The 36-year-old is looking to become Britain's most decorated Olympian ever in Rio next month by winning an eighth medal, in the team pursuit. In his Olympic debut in Sydney 2000, Wiggins won one bronze and went on to add four golds, one silver and another bronze in the four Olympics since.

While Wiggins is scheduled to retire at the end of this year, he has speculated in recent weeks that he might continue on to a sixth Games, in Tokyo in 2020.

Wiggins told Sky Sports News HQ: "It doesn't feel like five. Sixteen years is a long time but it feels like yesterday that I was getting ready for Sydney Olympics, and here we are, 16 years on, the last one. You are 36 but still feel 19 and are youthful with it all. It will top off what has been a career in which I achieved much more than I imagined I would. Sixteen years ago, when I got bronze in Sydney, I was sat in the track centre thinking, 'If I never do anything again, I've got an Olympic medal', so to be here five Olympics later with seven of them, it was beyond what I would ever imagined I would do. That Olympic part of my career is still my proudest and hopefully we can deliver what we have been doing in training and bring another one home."

The veteran of the British pursuit team added: "The whole team is in great form, so the excitement starts to come when you think of what you might accomplish in a couple of weeks' time. I have enjoyed the experience the last 12 months, coming back to the track and building up to this. It's nearly upon us now and we are ready to go. We are just fine-tuning now."