BRITAIN’S sailors are enjoying the lull before the storm as they gather strength for the biggest event of their lives.

Four members of the British Sailing Team took part in a press conference at the borough’s Olympic sailing venue yesterday to reveal insight into their preparations ahead of the first racing day on Sunday.

Triple Olympic gold and silver medallist Ben Ainslie , double Olympic gold medallist Iain Percy and his defending champion crewmate Andrew Simpson, plus Portland ’s rising star Ali Young attended the event at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy , which is now under lockdown.

Lymington’s Ainslie, 35, said: “It’s a really exciting time now for all of us, it’s been a long road to get this far.

“We’re now on final preparations, speaking for myself and everyone on the team, I’m happy with the way things are going, we’re looking forward to getting on with the racing now.”

He praised the talent within the home squad and added: “Every member of the team is a real high achiever, Alison is one of the youngest members of the team and she just won Sail for Gold coming into this event. We have medal prospects in every class, which is the first time we could honestly say that.

“One of the biggest things is dealing with the pressure, the Olympics is like no other event.”

Portland’s Young said: “There’s a really good buzz about the team as we get closer to the racing.

“It’s a bit different to a normal regatta, we don’t normally do press conferences but at the end of the day it’s still the same wind and water, so I’ll just get on with the sailing.”

Percy, 36, said: “One of the biggest differences between here and China is the wind, we were all preparing for very light winds in China.

“The British weather is unpredictable but here on the south coast sticking out by Portland we would expect some breeze.”

Bicycles will now be allowed on trains

BICYCLES will be allowed on Weymouth-Waterloo trains during the Olympics, a rail operator has said.

South West Trains (SWT) came under fire for banning non-folding bikes on its services throughout the period of the Games.

The green transport group Sustrans said the ban contradicted advice about people getting active and that passengers with bikes would have to revise their travel plans.

Now SWT has changed its mind about bicycles on trains following feedback.

A company spokesman said: “Green travel is important to us and we have a good track record for investing in facilities for cyclists using our network.

“However, we operate one of the busiest rail networks in Europe and space for cycles on our trains is limited.

“As a result, at peak times and on certain services we already have to restrict the carriage of non-folding bikes.

“This is a standard policy all year round. However, we welcome fully folded bikes on our trains at any time.”

The spokesman added: “During the Olympics and Paralympics our train services are going to be even busier.

“We will be carrying significant numbers of extra passengers on top of our normal levels of daily customers.

“We have considered carefully the position regarding cycles over the period of London 2012, including listening to feedback from our customers and our staff.

“Following that review, we have decided that our policy for non-folding and folding bicycles will remain unchanged throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“The only exception will be on July 28 and 29, when we will be unable to carry bicycles on our services via Epsom.

“This is also the case with other train operators and will ensure we can carry the maximum number of passengers to see the cycle race at Box Hill.”