Spanish cycling duo looking to keep up the heat and take gold in Tokyo

Bronze Medalist Albert Torres Barcelo (2nd R)and Sebastian Mora Vedri (1st R) of Spain pose after the Men's Madison Final at the end of the UCI 2016 Track Cycling World Championships in London on March 6, 2016. (Xinhua/Richard Washbrooke)

Spanish track cycling duo make no secret of the ambition to take the crown in Tokyo.

TOKYO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Spanish track cyclists Albert Torres and Sebastian Mora are one of their country's strongest medal hopes in the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The duo will compete in the 'Madison' event on August 7th, which sees pairs of riders almost catapulting each other around the track in a series of rapid and draining sprints and they travel as reigning European champions, with a bronze in the 2016 World Championships and three medals in World Cups to their credit.

"We are dreaming of gold; we have worked together for a long time (since 2015) and we always want to win, but riding a race where we have a real chance of winning is very exciting," said Torres in Spanish sports paper 'Marca'.

Meanwhile Mora admitted that "we are very ambitious and I am not hiding it. We are always under pressure and we know how to work with that and it helps to motivate us."

Sebastian Mora Vedri (1st R) of Spain reacts after winning the men's scratch race final at the 2016 Track Cycling World Championships in London, Britain, on March 2, 2016. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

The duo have worked in Valencia on the east coast of Spain, where they hope the humid conditions will match those in Tokyo, and Torres explained that while coronavirus restrictions complicated their preparations for the last European Championships, they go to Japan in the best possible shape.

"This year we are lucky to have had to great calendar to help us prepare and we hope to be at our best," said Torres, who admitted that being favorite was not always a help as other teams "will try and mark us in the race."

Although Mora and Torres may start as favorites, they know they face a tough field if they want to return triumphant.

"There are teams such as Denmark, who are always on the podium, while the Germans have won consecutive World titles, the Belgians are always strong...England, France and Italy, there are a lot of candidates and most are Europeans apart from Australian and New Zealand," explained Mora.