THE Bissell family from Stevenage have two reasons to be optimistic for the London 2012 Olympics. Laura and younger brother Peter are on the road to cycling success with a string of impressive performances already behind them. The pair, former Nobel Schoo

THE Bissell family from Stevenage have two reasons to be optimistic for the London 2012 Olympics.

Laura and younger brother Peter are on the road to cycling success with a string of impressive performances already behind them.

The pair, former Nobel School students, both live with their parents Dave and Sandy in Ripon Road.

Proud Dave said: "I think Peter has got a very good chance and Laura has also really improved this season."

Training is pretty intensive as cycling dominates their life.

They each train three or four times a week for two or three hours at a time.

Peter also cycles to work at an elite cycling shop in Potters Bar, while Laura does likewise for her job as a cycling instructor!

Keen athletes to begin with, they switched from running to cycling and joined Welwyn Wheelers where their interest grew.

The most recent achievement by the 23-year-old Laura was when she won a bronze medal in the scratch race at the national track championship in Manchester.

She also broke her personal best for the 3000m pursuit as she came fifth in 3:52.075.

Racing since the age of 11, she is currently a member of the sponsored team GS Strada and she used to race with the women's world sprint champion Victoria Pendleton from Stotfold.

Laura has also represented Great Britain three times as a junior as well as being the national junior 25-mile champion in 2000l.

She said: "Next year I want to do more international racing and my long-term goal is to get on the Great Britain cycling team and ride in the 2012 Olympics on the track."

Brother Peter is three years younger at 20 and he has also enjoyed a year of successes.

He was part of one of the top French semi-professional teams this season and has had several top 10 finishes in prestigious events. His best was winning a national espoir category road race. Peter is currently considering offers from five foreign teams to race on the continent next year.

Last season - his first year in France - saw him record four wins, as well as being runner-up five times, and take a third at the national espoir time trial championships.

He previously enjoyed success as a junior including winning the national junior time trial championships (over 16k) and the national junior hill climb championships.