Liam Killeen feels his 2012 preparations are on track

Liam Killeen won the national 2010 championships

Malvern mountain biker Liam Killeen says believes he is on track in terms of the 2012 London Olympics.

Killeen was among the favourites going into the Beijing Games but crashed early in the race so he acknowledges there is pressure on him for 2012.

"There's definitely pressure going into London but it is a positive pressure and, hopefully, I can channel that.

"I know I can have the condition to be at the front of the race but I just need a bit of luck to be on my side."

Killeen, 28, appears to have put the disappointment of Beijing firmly behind him and, if can build on his recent results, he will surely start among the favourites for the London Games.

It is that important taper into the big competition that you have got to get right

Liam Killeen

He is convinced he can take strength from the disappointment of that crash in Beijing.

"It happened so quickly and you are kind of just on autopilot," he told BBC Hereford and Worcester.

"I went down and the next thing I just had to sort things out, get back on the bike and get going again.

"Looking back it was a big disappointment but I think I made the best of the situation and if there had been another lap I am sure I would have been challenging for a medal," he added.

As with most Olympic hopefuls, 2012 is always at the back of Liam Killleen's mind but he points out there are other important competitions between now and then.

In terms of his training leading into the London Games, he says it is vital he gets the balance right between hard work and rest and recuperation.

"If you look at all endurance athletes, they are always on the edge of overtraining and personally I have stepped over that edge a couple of times," he said.

"You have got to learn when to back off as sometimes it is better to be on the side of freshness when you are going into a big race.

"But you have got to have that confidence and know that you have done that volume of training and then it is that important taper into the big competition that you have got to get right."