The last time the event was held on a British track, in Manchester in 2008, home riders took a remarkable nine gold medals before proving similarly dominant at that summer's Olympic Games in Beijing, winning seven golds on the track plus a further one on the road.

Similar domination this time around appears unlikely after a tough period since London 2012 but the British squad will be hoping for a confidence-boosting time in from of their home crowd in an arena built for the Olympics and Paralymics.

Two-time Olympic champion Laura Trott will be seeking  to return to her winning London 2012 form in the omnium.

Australian rival Annette Edmondson, though, will be looking for a successful defence just two weeks after crashing into a car during a training ride.

The Netherlands' Kirsten Wild and United States' Olympic silver medallist Sarah Hammer will be other leading contenders.

Australia will also start as defending champions in the team pursuit after breaking the world record a year ago.

Canada and Trott's British team have closed the gap after a strong season, however, with Hammer's US squad will also challenge for the podium.

The return of Sir Bradley Wiggins for a first Track World Championships in eight years should boost the home team on the men's endurance side.

Sir Bradley always appears to peak in Olympic year, winning three World and two Olympic gold medals  in 2008 before becoming the first man to win the Tour de France and Olympic time trial double in the same season in 2012.

He will join Andrew Tennant, Owain Doull and two-time Olympic champion Ed Clancy, who has enjoyed a remarkable recovery from a back surgery, in the team pursuit as they take on the likes of defending champions New Zealand and old rivals Australia. 

Ten male and nine female events will be contested in the Lee Valley VeloPark.

The madison will be contested by only the men.

A total of 390 cyclists from 45 countries are registered to compete in the five-day event.

Riders best known for road success will lock horns in the men's omnium, including sprint rivals Mark Cavendish of Britain and Elia Viviani of Italy, as well as Colombian defending champion Fernando Gaviria.

China have replaced Britain as the female sprinting powerhouse in recent years, with Gong Jinjie and Zhong Tianshi defending champions in the team sprint and Guo Shuang a leading contender on the individual side.

Miriam Welte and Kristina Vogel of The Netherlands should also figure strongly in both the team and individual events and two-time Olympic gold medallist Anna Meares will lead a strong Australian team that also features Stephanie Morton and Kaarle McCulloch.

Meares will also be chaseing a fifth world keririn titles, with Guo, Morton, Welte and Vogel all among her rivals.

On the men's side, another Australian could prosper in the sprint thanks to Matthew Glaezter.

He will be up against a field of more experienced riders, however, including French duo Gregory Bauge and Francois Pervis, Britain's Jason Kenny and Dutchman Theo Bos.

Pervis, plus Azizulhasni Awang of Malaysia, and Joachim Eilers of Germany, are all potential victors in the keirin.

The 2015 winners France, New Zealand, Germany, Australia and Britain will battle it out in the team sprint.

The men's and women's team sprint finals will top the bill on the opening day.