In Britain, the expectations in the build up to these World Championships started high. After the dominant performances of the GB team at the 2007 and 2008 World Championships and, even more so in public terms, at the Olympics in Beijing, surely another Gold rush was on the cards.
Doubts about that started to creep in three weeks before the event when it was confirmed that triple Olympic Gold winner Sir Chris Hoy would be missing the event following his fall in the keirin at Copenhagen. That one made the 10 O'Clock news.
Then it began to dawn on people that with Bradley Wiggins concentrating on his road career until the run up to 2012 – as he did in the last Olympic cycle - and Rebecca Romero taking time out to consider her options, the medal haul in Pruszkow might be more modest. And then, a couple of days before the event, the GB management team admitted that they wouldn't even be contesting the blue riband Individual Pursuit, concentrating instead on developing the new, relatively inexperienced team pursuit squad. (If you don't already have money on young American Taylor Phinney for the Individual Pursuit, stick a tenner on now – but don't expect good odds).
There's a talented team of youngsters – the men's team pursuit squad has dominated the winter World Cup season and Lizzie Armitstead, Anna Blyth, Jess Varnish, Jason Kenny and others have taken Golds over the last few months. But the World Cup, growing in significance though it is, is not the World Championships. Many riders were resting post-Beijing and many countries chose to skip individual rounds.
The medal hopes, then, would seem to rest with the few senior squad members taking part. Olympic heroines Victoria Pendleton and Wendy Houvenaghel and Steven Burke, Jason Kenny and Jamie Staff from the men's squad.
The general feeling at the start of the event is that the total medal count for this event would struggle to reach double figures – barely half the total from the previous two events.
trackcycling has left its predictions as late as possible and our view is slightly more optimistic (or pessimistic, if you're not a Brit!). We still think a dominant sixteen medal total is a realistic goal – thanks in large part to Victoria Pendleton - although Golds might be harder to come by than they have in the recent past – Pendleton aside. This is where we think they'll come from...
Endurance
Jonathan Bellis, Steven Burke and Ed Clancy are likely to be joined by veteran Chris Newton for the team pursuit. With Clancy the only member of the winning Olympic team, it looks like a big ask, but we think GB are far enough ahead in this event – and have such strength in depth – that they can pull it off. Our prediction : Gold
Mark Cavendish and Peter Kennaugh have a good chance in the Madison – particularly if Cav can put in a Milan-San Remo style burst to take a lap at the right time. The tactics have to be different from last year, though. Our prediction : Gold. Or nowhere
The Points race is historically a bit of a lottery, but Olympic Bronze medallist Chris Newton is turning it into a science. We think he'll do better than he did in Beijing, but not quite manage to pull it off. Our prediction : Silver and a Gold in the Team Pursuit
Lizzie Armitstead has been flying in the World Cup and looks a likely Points race winner and is in with a shout in the scratch. We think she'll get one, but not the other. Our prediction : Points Gold; Scratch Silver
The women's Team Pursuit team of Katie Colclough, Wendy Houvenaghel and Joanna Rowsell is marginally more experienced than the men's equivalent and we think they'll be the class of the field. Our prediction : Team pursuit Gold
Wendy Houvenaghel is also targetting a Gold in the Individual Pursuit and is keen to come out of Rebecca Romero's shadow. She deserves it and is capable of it, but the Team Pursuit makes it a tough double. The Individual Pursuit opens the Championships, but the training for both events will have taken its toll. We'd love to kick off the event by getting it wrong, but... Our prediction : Team Pursuit Gold; Individual Pursuit Silver.
Sprint
Matthew Crampton has been going well in training and looks likely to be part of the Team Sprint squad along with Kenny and Staff. He's also a cracking Keirin rider, but the competition from the French in both events is enormous. Our prediction : Silver in the Team Sprint and a win in the minor final in the Keirin – seventh
David Daniell is down for the Kilometre Time Trial and is a reserve for the Kierin and the Sprint. On his day he's capable of a medal and his relatively poor performance at the final World Cup round in Copenhagen really hurt. There's no question in our minds that Daniell is a future World Champion, but possibly not just yet. Expect him to be in with a shout, but just miss out. Our predicition : Fourth
As this was written, GB's plans for the Keirin weren't public, but we suspect Ross Edgar's going to be in it, but we don't think he's on good enough form to win it. Our prediction : Bronze
Jason Kenny will lead the medal haul among the male sprinters and has the best chance of a Gold in the Sprint. We think he'll do it – and take the runner up spot in the Team Sprint. Our prediction : Gold in the Sprint; Silver in the Team Sprint
Jamie Staff is a one event, one lap legend. His lead off lap in the Team Pursuit is the quickest in the world, but the French are flying and we're not quite sure it will be enough. Our prediction : Silver
Anna Blyth won Gold in the Team Sprint with Jess Varnish at Manchester's World Cup round last autumn and she's an outside shot for a medal in the Keirin here. Our prediction : Keirin Bronze
Victoria Pendleton and Shanaze Reade look unbeatable in the Team Sprint and Pendleton is more than capable of winning the Sprint, Keirin and 500m Time Trial titles as well – individually. We think she'll get three of the four. Our prediction : Team Sprint Gold; Keirin Gold; Sprint Gold; 500m Time Trial Silver
Shanaze Reade shares a BMX background with Jamie Staff and also looks good for a medal in the Team Sprint. She's capable of a 500m TT medal, too, but perhaps not this year. Our prediction : Team Sprint Gold
Jess Varnish is the junior member of the Worlds squad – in fact, she's still at school. Despite that, this is her second World Championships and we expect to see a significant improvement over last year and make it through to the match sprint rounds in the Sprint competition. We caught up with Jess before she flew out to Poland.
This is your second call up for the Worlds – you were in Manchester last year – how different does it feel this time around?
It's still the same circumstances. I'm still at school, like I was last year, so that's not going to be any different. But I think I'm a definitely stronger this year and hopefully I'll be a faster next week than I was at the National Championships. So I'm like I was last year – really surprised and happy to get picked again and I'm just happy with how things are going at the moment and hopefully it will carry on to next week.
You only just missed the cut in the qualifying for the sprint last year, didn't you?
That's right – but it was extra hard last year, being an Olympic year and everything. Everyone was going extra fast, but hopefully I'll be going a little bit faster this year and everyone will have calmed down a little bit!
But, honestly, I know it's not an Olympic year, but it's going to be equally hard for me to qualify, but that's the goal obviously. Qualify for the sprints and do well in the keirin.
What did winning the Team Sprint Gold with Anna Blyth at the World Cup mean to you, in terms of confidence for the Worlds?
Obviously it defintiely gave me a massive boost, because it was my first Senior race and it was a real shock that me and Anna won that to be honest with you. We both just went a bit faster in the final and I think that just did it for us and we were both really happy with that result.
Realistically, what do you hope to get out of the Worlds this week?
It's hard to say. I haven't really set any specific goals for myself at the World Championships. I think I'm just going to go there and see how I'm going and it'll be interesting to see what form I've got after doing a bit more track work.
Obviously I want to qualify for the sprint. That's the main thing. And just ride really well in the keirins and the match sprints. Get out there, get seen and get some really good experience and hopefully my legs will be feeling pretty good.
You've got a bit of an advantage over some of the competitors, haven't you? You rode the track at the Under 23 and Junior European Track Champs in September. A bronze in the Sprint and Gold in the 500m Time Trial...
I really like it. It's a really nice track. The times were fast at the Europeans.
And you've got your A level exams this summer?
Yes. I've got my last exam on June 15th and then I'll be a full time bike rider. I'll be moving to Manchester as part of the Olympic Academy programme.
Varnish is a remarkably level headed young woman and a great example of what British Cycling is trying to achieve with its multi-tiered development programme. Having grown up in the club racing scene at Halesowen – her father, Jim, is a former World Cycle Speedway champion – she was selected for the Olympic Talent Team – the first rung on the ladder for 14-16 year olds, then the Olympic Development programme (16-18) and now the Olympic Academy.