Great Britain's gold medal-winning cyclists have become the subject of thinly-veiled accusations that their phenomenal success in the Olympic velodrome is fuelled by cheating.

Australian Anna Meares and German Kristina Vogel, both Olympic champions in London four years ago, have followed a senior French coach in suggesting there is something suspicious about Team GB’s dominance.

Meares said: ‘The British are just phenomenal when it comes to the Olympic Games, and we’re all scratching our heads going, “How do they lift so much when in so many events they have not even been in contention in the World Championships?”.

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Team GB have had their remarkable cycling success at the Olympics questioned

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TEAM GB'S GOLD MEDAL-WINNING TRACK CYCLISTS Men's team sprint (Jason Kenny, Philip Hindes and Callum Skinner) Men's team pursuit (Bradley Wiggins, Owain Doull, Steven Burke and Ed Clancy) Women's team pursuit (Laura Trott, Elinor Barker, Katie Archibald and Jo Rowsell-Shand) Individual sprint (Jason Kenny) Advertisement

‘You come in here with hope, and you come in here with strong performances at world level for a number of years and then at the Olympic Games it seems like you’re just not in competition with that nation. So they’ve got it together, and to be honest I’m not exactly sure what they’ve got together.

‘It’s not just the Australian team that have questions. We’ve talked to the Germans and the French.’

Meares later sought to clarify her position, tweeting: ‘I never said or insinuated that #TeamGB are cheating or doing anything suspicious!’

Vogel, who beat Britain’s Becky James to win women’s sprint gold last night, had said she finds British Cycling’s ability to peak for the Olympics ‘very questionable’.

Anna Meares and Kristina Vogel have questioned how Team GB have reached such heights

Meares has been unable to explain Britain's incredible success in the Rio velodrome

Wiggins (right) helped Team GB to one of their track golds in the men's team pursuit

Referring to the world events they contest in non-Olympic years, she added: ‘They were cannon fodder in the last few years. Now they come along with a (high) level. I don’t want to accuse anyone of anything but it is all very questionable.’

The French sprint coach, former Olympic gold medallist Laurent Gane, said: ‘The recipe should be asked for from our neighbours because I don’t understand.

‘I’d love to know. These are teams that do nothing extraordinary for four years and once they arrive at the Olympics they outclass the rest of the world.’

British Cycling do put all their focus on the Olympics. They also only let their riders use the latest technology, in terms of bikes and kit, at the Games. At the World Championships in London in March, when British Cycling topped the medals table, they were riding the bikes used in 2012.

Asked if she thought the technology was making the crucial difference, Meares said: ‘I’m not sure about the technology. I know that the Australian team have done a marvellous job with technology in the last two years.’

Australian track star Meares has hit out at Team GB following a disappointing Games

Vogel of Germany has followed Meares with her strong criticism of the British team

Michael D’Almeida, part of France’s bronze medal-winning men’s team sprint trio, said: ‘We are human beings like them, we are made of the same stuff, we have a bike like they do, so why are they better?

‘If I had the explanation I wouldn’t be here today with a bronze medal around my neck. I’m not in their camp, I don’t know what goes on. I have my ideas but I’m going to shut up because I don’t think it’s good to speak in the heat of the moment.’

Gregory Bauge was in that French sprint team, having served a doping ban for missing tests in 2011. Even so, French sprinter Virginie Cueff told the Wall Street Journal: ‘It’s annoying, because you can tell they’re just walking it. You watch and cycling is easy for them.’

Michael D'Almeida of France has no answer to why Team GB have surpassed their rivals

British star Wiggins won his fifth Olympic gold medal following victory in the team pursuit

Iain Dyer, the head coach of British Cycling, delivered a considered response.

‘Our performance at the worlds in March wasn’t too shabby,’ he said. ‘We’ve won 12 world titles since London 2012. If that makes us cannon fodder coming into the Olympics then so be it.

‘If you look at some of the times that have been done here, some of the teams simply haven’t shown up. That’s the bottom line. You can trawl through the times for World Cups and World Championships. Some of the people here are not even performing at the level of World Championships.

‘They have every right to prioritise whichever event they choose to focus on. This is our priority. For us this is unquestionably the big one. The funding we’ll achieve in the next cycle going forward to Tokyo 2020 will be determined over the results we gain here.

Iain Dyer, head coach of British Cycling, has rejected any suggestion his team are cheats

Dyer talks tactics with one of Britain's track stars, superstar sprinter Jason Kenny

‘While we peak athletically for the Olympics, we also peak in our research and innovation for the Olympics. The helmets we are using here for example, we used in 2012 but haven’t used them again until now. The bikes obviously are new, the first time. And no end of different components and strategies are only appearing for the first time.’

Asked if he found the criticism offensive, Dyer replied: ‘If what I am hearing is true, yes, it is. It’s a shame. I can only point to the fact that you can look at athletes here who are simply not at their best.’

Callum Skinner’s form, which saw him help the team sprinters to gold despite a relatively poor performance in London in March, may well have fuelled some of the suspicion.

Mark Cavendish was another British star to win a medal, claiming silver in the men's omnium

Callum Skinner has been one British star to step up his game and win a medal in Rio

‘He finished fifth at the World Championships but we just had to get him on,’ responded Dyer. ‘There’s been a huge amount of work invested in his start. That hard work paid off. We always knew he was fast enough when we got him there.’

Responding specifically to Meares, way short of her best here, Dyer added: ‘I think any athlete moments after coming down from not achieving what they targeted is understandably going to be disappointed. I have no gripes with Anna. Hopefully, on reflection, she can see that we are all just trying our hardest and doing a great job.’

Skinner said: ‘Coming into this competition we were World Cup leaders, which means we’ve got the most consistent team over the three World Cups. I can’t understand the comments in relation to the team sprint. I’ve just been working as hard as I can.’

Dyer says Meares is understandably disappointed after falling below her high standards