Britain's 14-time Paralympic gold medallist claimed there was uncertainty over a potential Para-cycling Track World Championships taking place in 2017, which would give athletes who took breaks after Rio 2016 little time to prepare.

Dame Sarah also alleged a request to have Para-cycling integrated into the UCI Track World Cup programme was unsuccessful.

"There are rumours of a Para-cycling Track World Championships, potentially end of February, early March,” Storey told the Press Association.

"I'm really disappointed in the UCI for not making that public.

"Very few people have had the opportunity to get back into training for a decent length of time.

"The most disappointing part about the post-Games position is that we have such a lack of clarity and I don't feel we've progressed particularly well with the organisation of our championships.

"I was told Track World Cups weren't going to ever happen again but then four were announced this winter with absolutely no opportunity to discuss even a small integration of events for Para-cycling."

Dame Sarah's claims came in the wake of 15 World Championships being awarded to cities by the governing body until 2020 across seven disciplines.

While a Para-cycling Track World Championships was not award, the 2019 and 2020 Road World Championships were announced.

Currently a Para-cycling Track World Championships is not scheduled to take place in 2017, with the event having not historically been held in the year following a Paralympic Games.

The UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships do take place in the year directly after the Games, with Pietermaritzburg set to host the 2017 event.

It has not taken place in the same year as the Paralympic Games, however, with no event having been held in either 2012 or in 2016.

This is due to change in 2020, when Oostende in Belgium hosts the Championships.

Responding to Dame Sarah's comments, Cookson told insidethegames the UCI were confident progress was being made to promote Para-cycling.

The Briton, who included the growth and development of cycling in the Paralympics as one of the "six pillars" of his election manifesto in 2013, claimed the governing body were working hard to secure hosts for competitions.

"Following on an extremely successful Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, where our track and road events aroused a great deal of passion among the fans, we are continuously working with potential hosts to secure future World Cups and World Championships for Para-cycling," Cookson said.

"The 2016-2017 World Cup is underway, visiting four cities in two continents, specifically with two legs early next year in the Americas.

"The progress made in promoting Para-cycling over recent years demonstrates that the UCI is committed to ensuring that the discipline is going from strength to strength, despite difficulties in securing host venues from time to time.

"Together with our Para-cycling Commission, on which we are pleased to have such an important advocate as Dame Sarah Storey, we are fully committed to keep on pressing for further developing and strengthening the discipline."

Cookson added: "For example, we were pleased to see Ireland’s Colin Lynch setting the very first UCI Para-cycling Hour Record, of 43.133 kilometres, on 1 October in Manchester, a performance that revealed how much interest our record has been generating among cyclists since we updated its regulations.

"Over the last few days, the UCI World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland, has welcomed Para-cyclists from five countries for a dedicated two-week training camp, the fourth such event to be organised by the UCI, with two having taken place last year and a third earlier this year.

"As part of the camp, seven athletes [four men and three women] are making the most of the World Cycling Centre’s training facilities and expertise.

"Finally, we were delighted to support the recent successful nomination of Greita Neimanas, the representative of Para-cycling on our Athletes Commission, to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Athlete Standing Committee.

"Greita’s appointment serves as both recognition for our athletes and as further confirmation that the UCI is fully supportive of the role of paracycling in all aspects of our sport."

Last year, Cookson vowed to increase the visibility of track cycling and give riders more opportunities after they were warned that it faced being dropped from the Paralympics.

It came after administrative error by the UCI meant that it had missed the deadline for applying for the Tokyo 2020 programme, leading to the sport not been included among the first 16 confirmed for the Paralympics. 

Para-cycling succeeded in remaining on the programme, with Cookson admitting that they had "dropped the ball".