Cavendish and Wiggins headline all-star field for Six Day London

With 16 two-man teams now confirmed for the second edition of the track showpiece, the 32-strong field contains representation from the last nine world Madison champion pairings.

Current champs Mark Cavendish and Sir Bradley Wiggins, who also won the title back in 2008, will be on show, alongside Spaniard Albert Torres, Kenny de Ketele and Alex Rasmussen, who have all won a rainbow jersey once in the last nine years.

Also riding will be two-time champions Cameron Meyer and Morgan Kneisky, as the world's best riders are pitted against each other in six nights of action.

"There's going to be a lot of hype around it," said 2010 and 2011 Madison world champ Cameron Meyer.

"It is a really top class field and I've heard from a lot of the riders that the London Six was one of the hardest Six Days of the whole of last season to race.

"I've only done two Six Days before, I was on the podium both times and won one of them in 2012, in Berlin.

"OK, I haven't done lots and lots and lots, like some of the others, but I've had a taste of it and I've tasted success in it, so for myself I don't think it will be anything new.

"I'm ready for what the Six Days will throw at me, but with my partner, Callum Scotson, it's going to be a new experience for him and I'm sure he's going to lean a lot on my experience throughout the six nights."

The Six Day riders will also be joined by a fearsome female field boasting two Olympic champions in Elinor Barker and Katie Archibald.

The 15-strong field will race in a three-night omnium and Archibald, making her Six Day debut, cannot wait to test herself against the best bunch racers around.

"You don't get huge opportunities for the women's racing, so this will be over three days and I'm really looking forward to my taste of it," said the 22-year-old Scot.

"The demand is there for women's races, so well done to the Six Day Series for stepping up and providing that opportunity."

With a further six sprinters also competing in their own competition, and the 1878 Cup being held to find the best under-21 talent, this year's Six Day London field won a remarkable 20 medals at this year's UCI World Track Cycling Championships – including seven golds.

And Madison Sports Group CEO, Mark Darbon, is rightly proud of the group of riders assembled for the event.

"Outside of a world championship or Olympic Games, there cannot be many stronger fields put together on the track, with nine former world champions, a current Olympic Champion, last year's winners and some of the best six day riders around," he said.

"Add to that a really strong women's field with two of our GB gold medallists and you can start to see why the crowds are flocking to Six Day.

"And the event wouldn't be complete without the sprinters who bring bags of entertainment to the proceedings as well as explosive racing."

Sportsbeat 2016