Successful on the road and majestic on the track, Great Britain turn today to BMX to continue their dominance of cycling. And if you thought that it was just kids in baggy clothes messing about over jumps, then think again.

Admittedly, one of the Australia riders, formerly known as Jamie Hildebrandt, has changed his name to Kamakazi (hopefully he will ride better than he spells). And there will be plenty of dudes with tattoos hanging around the 370-metre track of jumps and banked turns.

But the athletic prowess of the very best riders is not to be underestimated. Shanaze Reade, the Briton who is a firm favourite for gold, has spent the past couple of months working on her start, specifically on shaving seven hundredths of a second off the first 1.3 metres out of the gate. “That's about a foot,” Grant White, her coach, said. And in a sport where 95 per cent of races are won by the leader at the first corner, those 12 inches might decide everything.

This will be the debut for BMX (Bicycle Motocross) at the Olympics and, just as the country has been required to learn its madison from its keirin on the track, so the demands of leaping over 40ft jumps at nearly 40mph may need explaining.

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“I know some people might see it as a little kid's sport, but Chris Hoy and Jamie Staff [gold medal-winners on the track] started out in BMX,” White said. “People look at the 100metres athletes and know they are elite. They should look at these guys the same way. It is almost identical, about power and pure explosion.

“It is also one of the most technical sports in the Games, to get the turns, to land the jumps, to have the wheels exactly where you need them. It's a cross between 100 metres and ballet.”

Reade has long been regarded as a gold-medal prospect purely on the basis of her power. She has only dabbled at track racing, but is already a world champion in the team sprint with Victoria Pendleton.

She wanted to improve her finesse, so Team GB, leaving no stone unturned, recruited White, a former BMX rider, from Australia. Then they flew in the American who built the Beijing track and asked him to build an exact replica in Manchester. That took a month and a lot of earth.

They have also worked to lighten the load, using titanium and aluminium parts, constructing new forks and even making carbon shinguards. “It's about the first six seconds into the first corner so you save every little fraction you can if you want to win gold,” White said.

To show off the sport at its most dramatic on its Olympic debut, the start ramp in Beijing is several metres higher than standard at eight metres. Slightly downhill, the riders will hurtle over the many bumps in as little as 35 seconds.

Upper-body strength as well as leg power is required. “It is deemed a contact sport,” White said. “There will be clashing elbows, bumping in the corners.” There is barely a rider who has not suffered some sort of break.

As a reminder of the perils of the sport, Liam Phillips, 19, who is competing in the men's race for Britain, slid off his bike yesterday in his final training session, but escaped with grazes. He is not expected to feature among the medals, but it will be a shock if Reade, also 19 but twice the world champion, does not race to gold. “I would put my mortgage on her winning,” Staff said. “Physically, she could annihilate the opposition.”

In 2012, the teenager from Crewe plans to double up on the track and in the BMX. For now, one gold will do and with London seeking to emphasise its credentials as a streetwise, fun, cool Olympics, Reade could become one of its most high-profile faces.

Beginning of a bumpy ride

BMX racing started in California in the 1960s as a pedal-powered version of off-road motorbike racing. A World Championships was held in 1982.

Riders start from a high ramp and race round a course featuring turns, bumps and other obstacles.

In 1993, BMX was sanctioned by the International Cycling Union and it was agreed in 2003 that the sport should make its debut at the 2008 Olympics.

The Laoshan course in Beijing is 350 metres long for women, 370 metres for men.

Shanaze Reade, the British prospect for a gold medal, began racing BMX bikes at the age of 10. She is now 19.

Reade bought her first BMX for £1 and has won two world titles. She is also a fine track cyclist.