Otley cyclist Lizzie Armitstead remains confident she can be successful at the London Olympics despite having to readjust her preparation plans.

Armitstead, who won the women’s point race and women’s sprint at the National Track Championships in Manchester earlier this month, had intended to drop the team pursuit from her multi-discipline portfolio and concentrate on just the road race and omnium in the build-up to next summer’s Games.

However, rules stipulating the omnium rider must be selected from the team pursuit group means that will not be possible.

The 22-year-old admits it could make her life more difficult, but Armitstead – a member of the British gold medal-winning team pursuit squad at the 2009 World Championships – is ready to do what it takes to earn her shot at Olympic glory on the track.

“I will be focusing on team pursuit this winter now – then from that team they will choose the omnium rider, so effectively, I am going for three events now,” said Armitstead.

Asked if she saw that as a problem, Armitstead replied: “Possibly. British Cycling have decided that team pursuit is a ‘banker’ medal, so they are not going to invest in an omnium rider.

“My best chance is the team pursuit and then off the back of that do the omnium.

“But if you are in the best team pursuit team in the world, then you will be one of the best omnium riders in the world as well, and I think it will be refreshing to go into the omnium without expectation and just race it.”

Armitstead – who will now head to Kazakhstan for the first World Cup event of the season – recently went to see the Olympic road course in London and was impressed with the circuit, although not so impressed there was no women’s test event around it.

“I’m really glad I went. I had expected it to be something like the Commonwealth Games – really flat, that was the image I had,” she said.

“But actually riding around the course and then seeing the (men’s) race, it’s a lot harder than what I’ve given it credit for.

“It (the lack of a women’s event) is one of those things. The event in itself cost something like £5million to put on, so they had to choose male or female.

“They chose male and I think they missed an opportunity to have a women’s race but I’m not going to let it bother me.”

Armitstead also believes there should be a female version of Team Sky, the men’s road squad which has enjoyed such a successful year so far.

“I think again, perhaps Sky are missing an opportunity to have a women’s team, which would definitely be one of the strongest teams in the world,” she said.

“We’ve got an Olympic champion and two world champions already, which is more than the men have at the moment.”