By Bryn Palmer, Sydney

Former Olympic champion Chris Boardman has warned Sydney gold medallist Jason Queally of the pitfalls awaiting him on his return to Britain as he prepares to wind up his own Games career in Saturday's time trial.

Boardman become a household name eight years ago when he struck gold on the Barcelona track with his acclaimed 'superbike', the first time Britain had won an individual Olympic cycling title since the war.

Lancastrian Queally became the second to achieve the feat when he won the first of Britain's six gold medals in Sydney on the opening night of competition last Saturday, and followed it up with a silver alongside Chris Hoy and Craig MacLean the following day.

That twin achievement made the 30-year-old the most successful British Olympian at a single Games since Sebastian Coe and ensured he instantly acquired the status of a national hero.

But Boardman, whose own Olympic endeavours also featured a bronze medal in Atlanta, warns that Queally will be subjected to a whole new set of personal and professional pressures as a result of his success.

"It is just a different life," he explained. "It doesn't change you as a person, but how people view you changes.

"People react to you differently and they don't relax around you for a while. But that is part of the package.

"It gets even harder on the bike, because people expect you to be the best in the world, and you have to live up to it, and it's not a lot of fun.

"Once you have finished first, you either do what people expect or you are considered a failure. But it goes with the territory, and most people would love to have that problem."

Boardman, who is retiring from competition at the end of next month, will first join Queally at the world championships being held at Manchester's Velodrome, where Britain's track squad will be hard pressed to repeat their Sydney exploits.

Before then Queally is likely to be besieged with a host of commercial offers and intense demands on his time from both the media and the public, when, according to Boardman, he will have to decide where his priorities lie.

"You have to remember why people are interested - because you are successful - and make sure that stays your number one priority and don't let anything else get in the way of that," he explained.

"There is always a compromise to maximise the opportunities that have presented themselves, but you have to stay focused on the job, to make sure they stay interested.

"But you lose a lot of your time. This is going to absorb his whole life. If he wants to make the most of it, the next four years are going to be an intense period."

Although Boardman was not in Sydney to witness it personally, he admits he was "amazed" at the success enjoyed by the whole track squad, and impressed by the dramatic improvement he detected in the way British competitors handled the demands of top-level competition.

"Our people have often fouled up in the past; they tend to crumble in the last few days and hours, and even minutes, before a race because they don't know how to deal with the pressure. But in this team, everybody has dealt with it."

The Wirral rider was particularly "made up" for 39-year-old Yvonne McGregor, admitting he was almost in tears watching her claim a dramatic bronze in the individual pursuit after years of pursuing her goal.

"She is the British athlete I admire most, bar none," Boardman added. "She has always been there at training camps when the guys have gone home, she is prepared to push herself so hard. She far outstrips my dedication, and she has always deserved it."

Boardman admits that having seen the rest of the cycling squad perform above expectations in Sydney, he would love to seal a memorable Games with a medal that would give Britain its best-ever Olympic cycling haul.

Although playing down his own prospects for the 46.8 km time trial, where competitors start at 90-second intervals and race against the clock, Britain's other contender, David Millar, believes Boardman could still pull off one last major success.

"Chris is capable of doing amazing things on a good day," said the Scot. "I wouldn't write him off yet - he is capable of doing a medal."