Training made me sick but my sister's endured real pain

It just so happened I was back in the UK staying with my parents and my sister lives just around the corner from them.

Amelia's a real cutie with lovely thick black hair. Holding her for the first time, I couldn't believe how tiny she was. It's so strange getting my head around the idea that my sister has a baby. I've always been the baby in the family but not any more.

I can't say Amelia's arrival has made me particularly broody although that might be down to the fact my sister was in labour for three days! I think I've got a good few years ahead of me before I start thinking about doing that. The labour alone has put me off it for a bit.

The reason I'm back in the UK was not because of the birth - although that was a nice coincidence - but to do some training at the Manchester Velodrome. Returning to the track after a long stint of road racing used to seem alien but not any more. I slipped right back into it and it's been important as it makes you realise how hard the winter's going to be.

We've got these nasty little sessions - there's a name for them in the British camp but it's not repeatable in the paper I'm afraid. It entails riding four kilometres flat out at the top of your effort and doing it again and again. My last one was so harsh that I was sick in my mouth and when I got home I was so tired I couldn't even move off the sofa.

I've been sharing the track with the sprint guys such as Sir Chris Hoy, Matt Crampton and Jason Kenny. I haven't seen much of Chris training as, when he's on track, I'm normally off it cross-eyed and desperately trying to catch my breath
after my session.

Saying that, it's inspirational to have a figure like him around. He gives off this amazing aura of professionalism. He's always smartly turned out in the best kit, he's always having in‑depth chats with the coaches and his nutrition is clearly very good, judging by the stuff he lays out by his chair. His presence is even greater when you go to, say, a World Cup event and, having him as a team‑mate, gives the whole squad a real buzz.

I'm not solely doing track work; I'm also doing two-hour sessions in the gym in Manchester. Gyms and I don't get on all that well - I find them pretty boring but there's a new strength and conditioning coach within British Cycling who's found the right approach to get the best out of me. It involves him telling me how good I am even when I'm not! Whatever the case, it's doing the trick as I feel in really great shape.

I'm hoping the Olympic road race test event goes ahead on Sunday. I'm planning to come down to London tomorrow, to ride part of the course on Saturday - basically the bits outside the city centre - and then I'm travelling in a team car behind the race the following day.

Hosting the race involves shutting off a lot of the roads and quite a big police presence so, whether that can definitely go ahead, we'll have to wait and see considering how stretched the police are at the moment.