Great Britain have still not found anyone quite like Jamie Staff. So much so, he says, they tried to get him back.

"Even last year, at the World Championships, they were like, 'We want you back'. But I'd made other commitments and I love what I do," he recalls.

Staff, now 38, rode to gold with Sir Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny in the men's team sprint at the Beijing Olympics four years ago. Hoy and Kenny have fought on to London 2012 but Staff, troubled by injury and keen to see more of his family, called it a day.

The problem for British Cycling is that Staff's skill and pace as "man one" in the team sprint - the team's leader for the opening lap - were almost unparalleled. Replacing him has proved impossible in the years since his retirement.

Hoy and Kenny have been moved up and down the order, with others such as Matt Crampton and Ross Edgar shunted into the line-up, but the magic combination has yet to emerge.

Hence, Staff says, the offer to bring him back out of retirement and reunite the full, golden Beijing line-up. But by "other commitments" he means his new job, as a coach to the sprinters in the United States track cycling team.

Jamie Staff, in US coaching guise, chats to Ross Edgar, tasked with filling his GB shoes. Photo: Getty

He now lives in southern California's Orange County, far removed from his years spent at British Cycling's base in Manchester. The drive to abandon his coaching career and return to cycling for Britain, even at a home Olympics, did not exist.

"My wife's spent most of her adult life in California and she found it pretty hard being over in the UK, living somewhere notorious for being pounded by rain," says Staff. "I was away travelling and racing; she was at home with two young kids, in a village, with rain. She struggled and it got hard.

"I miss certain things - like road rides in the countryside, because LA is a concrete jungle - but I don't know whether my back would have coped with more riding, and, more than that, you have to want it.

"You've got to want it more than anything else, and that's what people don't realise. You've got to want to do it and I was ready to move on, to be a family man and be there for my wife. There's more to life than just sport."

That may be, but Staff has remained within his sport to coach a US outfit which, he says, needs much the same treatment as the British team of a decade ago. He has been given both the budget and the backing. Now he is set for the long haul, charged with turning American track cycling into something resembling Britain's successful programme.

Doing so means watching the British at work. While filming the GB team sprinters in their qualifying heat at the Olympic Velodrome on Friday, Staff felt an odd pang of disappointment at no longer playing his part in that success story.

"For the first time, watching GB get on the line for the team sprint qualifier, I actually missed racing," he says. "I was standing there, filming it, and I wished I was up there.

"Part of me wants to go out there, still be in front of the crowd and enjoy every moment of that. But a big part wants to move on."

British Cycling could not confirm that Staff had been approached last year. But, if Staff did turn down the opportunity to rejoin his team sprint colleagues, he is certainly not short of opinions on how Britain - who won bronze in the event on Friday - can best replace him.

Highlights: GB men's team sprint win bronze in Olympic Velodrome

"Even I was surprised. I was expecting someone would be able to step up when I retired," he says. "And I know Jason Kenny can do it. He could go out there and I've no doubt he could go as quick, possibly even quicker than me in man one. But then that leaves another spot empty.

"I would personally put Jason at one, Ross [Edgar, currently riding in Staff's old position] at two and Chris in three. The time they would gain from Jason in one is better than the couple of tenths they might lose with Ross in two."

Has he suggested this to his former employers?

"I met [performance director] Dave Brailsford and [coach] Shane Sutton in the hotel the other night and mentioned it. The coaches know what they're doing; they're not silly. They're trying different combinations.

"To me, though, it's obvious. I know Jason doesn't enjoy riding at one - he says he doesn't get to go fast enough - but at the end of the day you're out for medals, not to enjoy yourself."

In his career, Staff managed both. He can quickly pinpoint all sorts of tiny moments from that glorious day in Beijing: snapshots of panic on reaching the Olympic final, a calming chat with psychologist Steve Peters, strange tranquility in the seconds before the race, then jubilant phone calls to family having stepped down from the podium.

"Every year got better and better. We're looking at each other each time saying, 'Seriously, this cannot be happening'. Even we were surprised," he says.

"I was so fortunate, it was an amazing time to be a part of British Cycling. I email Chris Hoy still, now and then. We had our good times; we're still good friends.

"And it's a shame because, for the likes of Chris, London 2012 is his last race - probably - and he might not be able to double or triple up.

"But I'm not going to put it on my shoulders," Staff adds with a smile. "They may have failed in terms of getting someone new, but I haven't let them down."

It was in September 2009 that I first wrote in this blog about our technical ambitions and the possibility of some 3D coverage of London 2012.

Here's what I said at the time: "We could, and I believe should, capture some of the Games in 3D. Nobody would expect the Games of 2012 to be comprehensively in 3D because the technology will be nothing like widespread enough; but it would be a shame not to have any images of London that were part of an experiment with what will be one of the next big waves of change."

That was followed up last summer with a specific piece about 3D - which generated some pretty polarised comments.

And they, along with market analysis and wider audience research, have helped shape our policy on 3D for London 2012.

We've always been clear we were never going to have a 3D channel for the Olympics and the BBC's overall approach to 3D has been very much on the lines of an experiment around special events like Wimbledon and Strictly Come Dancing.

This caution has been in line with consumer demand - 3D has spread more slowly than we perhaps expected in 2009 and there have been interesting developments abroad with France's Canal Plus announcing that it's stopping its 3D channel because it just hadn't met its targets.

London 2012 organisers Locog will hope to match the spectacular opening ceremony staged for the Beijing Olympics four years ago. Pic: Getty Images.

But we do believe it's right for the BBC to go ahead with a 3D experiment this summer.

First, it's part of the story of innovation around the London Games - and with the host broadcasters' feed available in 3D we wanted to share some of that with UK audiences.

Second, the industry will only know what customers want if we have actual data on their use of 3D and there's no bigger stage on which to try this out than the Olympics.

So here's what we're announcing today that we intend to offer in 3D:

• The Olympic opening Ceremony live
• The men's 100m final live
• Nightly highlights in 3D
• The Olympic closing Ceremony live

We've chosen these events partly because they mark the pinnacles of the Games but also to minimise the loss of HD that is a consequence of our 3D service.

The pattern will be that our main standard-definition transmission will be on BBC One, the HD simulcast will be on BBC One HD and then the 3D version will be on the BBC HD Channel - as we did with Wimbledon.

For the nightly highlights, they'll feature a range of sports on the BBC HD channel after the live action has finished. In other words, this is using "spare" capacity on BBC HD.

I should note it's not yet clear how much of the ceremonies will be shot in 3D but otherwise opening and closing have the advantage that there's no competing sport, and therefore no loss of choice for HD viewers. But that wouldn't have been the case if we'd expanded our 3D coverage over the rest of the 17 days.

So if we had, for instance, decided to do a whole night of athletics in 3D on Friday 3 August then we'd have lost swimming and other sports from BBC HD - which would have disadvantaged the far larger number of people who'd want to watch that.

The aim, then, is to showcase 3D for the biggest moments but to preserve choice in a world of conflicting demands. We'll look forward to your feedback now, but more especially in Games-time, about whether we've got that balance right.

Mark Cavendish sits, cross-legged, on a patch of grass in the desert.

The Qatar sun, radiating a pleasant but not stifling 24C on this February morning, brings such a bright white light from the 26-year-old's rainbow jersey - gained for winning last year's world road race title - that the man standing above him must wear shades to look down and hold a conversation.

That man, in his 60s, fits his own white shirt a little less easily than he once did. He is Eddy Merckx, perhaps the greatest road cyclist in history, with three of those world titles to his name alongside five Tour de France wins and countless other honours.

When Cavendish starts races, he sets out to break records, and many of those belong to Merckx. But this year, Cavendish might accomplish something Merckx never achieved: an Olympic victory.

Things were different in the Belgian's day, and nobody is pretending he retired in 1978 with much regret that his only Games (the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo) resulted in a 12th-place finish.

Many other cyclists don't take the Olympics all that seriously. For them it's the big tours, the classics, the world championships. But Cavendish sees the Games as a separate entity.

Mark Cavendish encounters a new kind of lead-out train in Qatar. Photo: Getty Images

"At the Olympics, I'm carrying the weight of Great Britain," he tells us later.

"That's what's so special about it. The Tour de France, the Tour of Qatar, that's my professional life: I get paid to ride a bike. Simple as. The Olympics is something different, you're putting on a jersey that represents the flag of the country you're born under.

"I'm a patriotic guy. To ride the Olympics for my country, especially in London, with it being the first medal on offer, on a course that suits us... it's quite exciting. I'm looking forward to the end of July."

If all goes to plan, Cavendish will be led to the brink of Olympic gold by four British team-mates on 28 July, then unleashed in the dying seconds to apply the afterburner and inch past his rivals. Not everybody is convinced the London 2012 course will pan out that way, but that is the Cavendish trademark and the dream.

He demonstrated how it ought to look in Copenhagen last September, when he won his rainbow jersey in exactly that fashion. A matter of days later, he confirmed a deal to leave the now-defunct HTC-Highroad cycling outfit for Team Sky, overseen by British Cycling performance director Dave Brailsford. On 11 October, his move was announced to the world.

Cavendish wins 2011 world road race gold in Copenhagen

The switch had been widely anticipated. Cavendish in Team Sky colours, alongside fellow superstar compatriot Bradley Wiggins, seemed to make sense from every angle. Cavendish either used to race with, or grew up riding alongside, many of his new team-mates. His Austrian HTC-Highroad colleague Bernie Eisel, who stays close to Cavendish on and off the road, came with him.

But Cavendish and Team Sky appeared a particularly good fit because of a man named Rod Ellingworth.

Cycling fans know who Ellingworth is. The chances are, many of those who voted Cavendish the BBC Sports Personality of the Year after his sensational 2011 season do not. Cavendish might not be a world champion, Tour de France green jersey winner or Olympic favourite without Ellingworth.

"He just knows what it is to be a bike rider," says Cavendish of the man so often described as his mentor. "He loves it, he lives for it, it's more than a job for him - it's a life, it's a commitment. He's got as much passion for it as I have. That's why we get on so well."

While Cavendish was racing for HTC-Highroad his opportunities to talk with Ellingworth, Team Sky's race coach, were limited. In pro road cycling, you cannot pick up the phone and have long cycling chats with other teams' staff - even if Ellingworth doubled as the British team coach.

"We worked together preparing the GB team for the 2011 Worlds," continues Cavendish, "but it was a case of very definitely having to keep my professional team and GB as separates.

"We did that really well but it's nice to finally be back with a group of riders who I've grown up with, a lot of old team-mates, and management who've known and nurtured me since I was really young. Touring with Rod on a daily basis is the best thing for me."

Ellingworth, who will celebrate his 40th birthday on the penultimate night of the London Olympics, has a coaching pedigree which far exceeds that he earned as a road cyclist. Now Cavendish is back fully under his wing, in a team packed with British talent.

"For the Olympics it's absolutely crucial [for Cavendish to race with Team Sky]," says Ellingworth. "In every single race he'll be riding alongside guys who, potentially, he's going to ride the Olympics with.

"Mark's a good bike rider and he would make it somehow, in his own way. But with us, he knows why we're working with him. Nobody's trying to get anything from him or make something off the back of Mark. He's with us because he trusts us all.

"He knows why you're being honest: because you want him to be the best he can be. For sure, in this team, he can go a long, long way."

It's hard to go a long way in Qatar. A nation of one city, Doha, and few major roads, the week-long tour is over in a flash. Cavendish finishes with two stage victories and a crash, limping over the line of the final stage sans helmet having tangled himself up in the sprint.

"My helmet disintegrated and I was sliding on the back of my head for quite a while," he says, a few hours later. "I'll need some treatment on that for the next couple of days. Apart from that I didn't take too much skin off: a bit of my elbow, my hip, normal cycling wounds."

This is where the road to glory in 2012 begins: a desert nation, sand whipped up in the crosswinds, camels paraded at the start line, sheikhs reclining at the finish.

The Tour of Oman is next on the list. These destinations may not sound much like Box Hill but Cavendish, chasing world, Olympic and Tour success in the year to come, is exactly where he wants to be.

For those first-time readers, I'm in the British rowing team hoping to compete in this summer's Olympic Games - and when I say "summer", it feels a very long way off right now with snow on the ground and ice on the lake.

There will be plenty of updates in the weeks and months to come on how training is going, the battle for selection and the increasing excitement as we get closer and closer to an Olympic Games on home soil.

However, this month I thought I'd give you a more personal insight into what it's really like to row for your country, warts and all. Here are the bits that nobody ever seems to consider.....

Writing your name on your clothes. Remember doing that for your school PE kit? Well, meet the 20-something women who are still doing it. Bear in mind, our PE kit is effectively our work wardrobe, and with all of us having near-identical collections we have to name it to keep hold of our own. The award for Most Obsessed With Naming Her Kit goes to Jo Cook, who gets her mum to sew school name labels into all her kit.

Anna Watkins attempting to get rid of her 'racer back' tan lines

Sense of humour. One of our best coping strategies for the daily process of driving yourself to exhaustion and beyond is humour. There aren't many situations that are beyond a chuckle and I think rowers are excellent at finding the funny side of every event. Rower with the Best Ability To Crack Jokes? That would be Jessica Eddie, whose Geordie irony can make anyone smile.

Music. When it comes to long stints on the rowing machines, or ergos, what's on our MP3 player is absolutely crucial and hence we spend hours compiling playlists, meticulously planned to ensure the best songs come on during the darkest moments of the session. The award for the Most Interesting Choice Of Music goes to Beth Rodford, who believes the best album to see you through a long ergo is the soundtrack to Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

Boyfriends. They must satisfy two non-negotiable criteria. First, they must be tall. Certainly taller than us (including when we're in heels), and that means at least 6ft 4ins. And heavier, obviously. Second, they must be secure enough to cope with their girlfriends being better at sport than they are, and possibly having bigger muscles. Winner of Boyfriend Who Doesn't Mind Being Beaten By A Girl is Lindsey Maguire's partner, who not only has a girlfriend better at sport than he but also a sister - Hannah England, the GB 1500m runner.

Getting clothes to fit. I remember, years ago, that I was a standard size 12. Now, however, it's a different story. The fact that I'm a lot slimmer, which is great, is counter-balanced by the fact I've got muscle definition around my body. Jeans that are long enough and not too tight around the quads are invariably too big round the waist. Tops that can accommodate my shoulders are baggy around the stomach. What is a girl to do? Rower Who Dresses the Best: Vicky Thornley, resident glamour puss.

If you're happy and you know it... The ability to be in a ridiculously good mood first thing in the morning is another defining feature of our lives. Rowing is a sport that requires participants to be up at dawn or beforehand, and having grown up on a farm, that suits me fine. The award for Most Consistently Cheerful In The Morning goes to Captain Heather Stanning, who always has a smile, clearly relishing the mornings before she goes back to her previous career of waking up in a foxhole on Salisbury Plain with the Royal Artillery.

Tan lines. Less of a problem this time of year, but still, spending so much time in the outdoors means that despite being religious in our adherence to suntan lotion, we still end up with some interesting looking lines. Glaringly white feet and bodies contrast to nut brown legs and arms, which look fine until we're on our holidays in bikinis. The award for Biggest Commitment To Skin Tone goes to Anna Watkins, who spent the entire summer of 2009 switching between different strappy tops every day in order to even out the brown shade across her shoulders and back. She did have a good reason though: her own wedding, a fortnight after the World Championships. Rumours she hit the sunbed after getting back from Poznan are unsubstantiated.

There are some fairly odd upsides and downsides of this unique lifestyle but I hope I've managed to throw some light on both sides. I'm back off now to my regular training regime, best summed up by describing it as all day, every day, many thousands of calories and a surfeit of chapped skin on my hands.

It's a month until our national team trials on the Olympic course at Dorney Lake, near Slough, so the focus now is on getting my single scull up and running. I'll let you know how I get on.

I completely understand people who are sceptical about the legacy of London 2012. From the start, "legacy" was a neat bit of positioning by the bid team - the difference, arguably, between London's success and the failure of the candidacy from Paris.

But everyone knows that the success of the Olympic Games is judged most of all on sport and the image the host city projects to the world.

Whether the Village is lived in 10 years later or how much economic benefit was won by Atlanta or Athens will barely create a ripple on the global news agenda. Compare that with the indelible images of Michael Johnson, Kelly Holmes or Usain Bolt.

Within the BBC 2012 project, we've therefore spent most of our time focused on sport, news and culture along with how we deliver the biggest set of events in peacetime across TV, radio and online.

But it's been striking how legacy has increased in importance - partly because the proximity of the Games also means we're getting closer to the end of London's story, and you can see that unless we create initiatives that endure then there will be crucial chapters missing.

And the bid was right all along that legacy matters, and for public institutions like the BBC it would be daft and irresponsible for us to undervalue it.

Today we've been taking some of our partners and the media through what the BBC has been doing around work and skills for our young people.

You can read the full press release here. But rather than try to convince the sceptics again with words, I hope you'll grab a few minutes to watch the films we've created about what our three principal schemes are doing.

First, there are our apprentices. It's something we are championing for media production - offering a mix of work and education. In this film one of our current intake looks into what an apprenticeship is.

Then there's our work experience scheme which brings in people from the Olympic boroughs on short placements across the BBC to get a flavour of the industry and see if the media is a career for them.

And finally our community reporters - a group of volunteers trained one day a week over seven weeks to bring their stories to our newsrooms.

There are lives which have seen real change because of the Olympics and the way we can use media to inspire a new generation.

And we want this to be of benefit not just to the individuals but to audiences too - getting young people into creative jobs rather than a life on the dole, and using their experiences in our programmes in a way that makes them better and more interesting for everyone.