GWENT has achieved fine cycling achievements in the past year but this summer will see the county's reputation surpass itself.

That is because the British Olympic Games team will be in the county to make their final preparations for an assault on Athens.

The sport's governing body has chosen Newport as the ideal place to hold a two-week training camp for the entire road and track squad before they make their way out to Greece for the August games.

It means that stars like Wales' Women's World Cup Series champion Nicole Cooke and Tour de France rider David Miller, both of whom are pre-selected for the team, will be in the camp.

Those two will be training with the squad on the roads, probably based at the Celtic Manor Resort, which hosts the National Road Race Championships for a second successive time on June 26 and 27.

That is one great coup but, because Newport now has a £7 million velodrome at Spytty Park, all the track stars will be arriving as well.

That is likely to see big British guns like Jason Queally, who won the gold medal in the kilometre race at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and double World Championships team silver medalist Chris Hoy preparing on the track.

A whole raft of other top championships for this year are also on the cards but bringing the Olympic squads to the county to get ready for the biggest event they can ever compete in is a massive indication of Wales cycling pedigree.

Abergavenny's Welsh Cycling Union chairman Bill Owen said: "You cannot imagine how big for Wales bringing the Olympic team here is. It is just amazing.

"They are here for a fortnight and they are likely to be staying at the Celtic Manor. All this means as well that, when they fly out to Athens, they will be going from Newport.

"We promised before Christmas that our wonderful year in 2003 was only the tip of the iceberg as far as cycling in Wales is concerned, and here is another example of why people are looking to us as the best place to be."

Owen is also to have talks with the National Assembly today regarding the chance of bringing Cooke and her fellow Women's World Cup Series riders to Gwent for a round of the championships next year.

In addition to the National Road Race Championships return this year, Gwent is also staging the National Trophy Cyclo-Cross Series final, staged at Abergavenny Leisure Centre last December, again.