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Bradley Wiggins, leading the latest development in British cycling. Photo: Getty Images

Several of those are already under way, most notably the , which this year hosts some of Britain's top cyclists beneath the banner of the newly founded road racing outfit.

Under the watchful eye of British Cycling performance manager Dave Brailsford, prodigious talents like Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish and Geraint Thomas have pitched themselves into the Tour maelstrom - with to say the least.

However, from a British perspective, the Tour is not simply about how these British riders develop. It also affords the chance to see how Britain's immensely successful cycling programme is continuing to reshape itself in the pursuit of even greater things come London 2012. Team Sky's is one example.

Speaking ahead of the Tour at the Manchester Velodrome last month, Brailsford told me he himself had to continue improving otherwise others would overtake him.

It might be an easy thing to say but, as a man at the top of his game, it is also easy to spot when that goes wrong. So the success or otherwise of his foray into road racing is well worth keeping an eye on. It appears his fledgling team still have plenty to learn.

Not that these are the only British cyclists in action. and , GB's top BMX duo, have been crossing the globe from their base down the road at Manchester's Platt Fields track.

Phillips recently competed in the European Championships in Norway (where Twitter tells us the people "" but ), and the pair of them will head to Pietermaritzburg, in South Africa, for the sport's World Championships at the end of July. (Who said South Africa has had its time to shine?) More from Reade on this blog in the near future.

Think of sports with strong British medal hopes for 2012, and cycling is up there. So, too, are swimming and athletics, both of which get full, live ´óÏó´«Ã½ treatment this summer.

The of swimming take place in Hungary in the first half of August. is led by household name Rebecca Adlington but British Swimming hopes new stars will be crowned in 2012. Chief among those prospects could be Achieng Ajulu-Bushell.

Watch the Euros to see how the 16-year-old, who was born in Manchester but swam for Kenya before earlier this year, fares against more experienced rivals in the 100m breaststroke in Budapest.

Ajulu-Bushell attends the same Plymouth school as another, better-known aquatics prodigy in diver Tom Daley. My colleague Tom Fordyce has been spending time with her ahead of the Euros, so watch his blog for more soon.

As for Daley, he has been announced as the star of the 40-strong British team for the first , which take place in Singapore in mid-August. Another name to look out for is Sam Oldham, a young gymnast who by storm in May - you can follow Oldham, Daley and the team with daily highlights on bbc.co.uk/olympics and on the red button.

Meanwhile, Britain's top junior athletes are in action at the in Canada this week. The one to watch is 16-year-old Jodie Williams, an outstanding sprinting prospect and junior number one in the world over 200m (with a best of 22.79 seconds).

Williams has been held back from the senior in Barcelona to give her time to develop but the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s cameras will be out in force in Spain between 27 July and 1 August.

What state are Britain's senior athletes in right now? Performances at the Euros may go some way to answering that question, after , such as the Gateshead leg of the sport's Diamond League.

Charles van Commenee, UK Athletics' head coach, admitted his charges were "not very good" in Gateshead but has come out with for a reversal of fortunes in Spain. He will be "embarrassed" if the team, captained by heptathlete Jessica Ennis, fails to reach the target of 10 to 15 medals set for it by UK Sport, and he wants "seven or eight" of those to be gold.

If that comes true, it will make for gripping viewing. But where are those medals going to come from, especially without the likes of injured Beijing 2008 gold medallist Christine Ohuruogu? (Her younger sister, Victoria, will be at the Youth Olympics.) Can Martyn Rooney, Michael Rimmer and others step up to Van Commenee's challenge?

Not that you should feel confined to watching ´óÏó´«Ã½ coverage on your screen, since your chances of catching Olympic sport live right here, in Britain, are excellent this summer.

Throughout the previous week I've been at hockey's Champions Trophy, watching England's women take on five of the world's best teams on home turf for the first time. You can see highlights of each England game , including the that won them a bronze medal, their best-ever finish in the competition..

Bronze may not sound like much in a six-team tournament but, given the calibre of the opposition, that roughly equates to an Olympic semi-final berth. And that is a big deal for British hockey. (Read more in my earlier blog, here.)

If you couldn't join me in Nottingham then maybe you can catch the in London, one of the biggest events in the triathlon calendar this year. If not, it'll be live on ´óÏó´«Ã½ television.

It's part of the World Championship Series, a sequence of seven races which determine the finest triathletes on the planet, so you are guaranteed to see the cream of the crop in action.

Among them is , the Yorkshireman who was crowned world number one by winning the series last year and who has made from injury so far this season, earlier this month.

(By the way, I'll be volunteering at the triathlon on Saturday 24 July. Will you be there? If you see me guarding a crossing point, say hi!)

There's also fencing's British Championships in Sheffield to consider on the same weekend, following on from the in Germany, where - and I'll have more from the GB fencing squad for you soon.

Or, you can catch some top-class sailing off the British coast.

The women's Laser Radial World Championships have been taking place around Largs, while the men's Laser event - including Beijing gold medallist and defending champion Paul Goodison - is coming to Hayling Island in late August. of when and where to watch.

Or how about taking in what amounts to an early test event for the Games in Weymouth? The Olympic sailing venue for 2012 hosts the regatta from 10-15 August. The Hyde Park Triathlon and Sail for Gold are your best chances for a preview of what London 2012 will feel like.

The people who really need your support simply to reach 2012, though, are the British basketball stars. Both the men's and women's teams, neither of whom have been handed a free pass to the Games as hosts (though we'll have more about this from governing body Fiba soon), play vital qualifiers for the EuroBasket tournament in August.

I'd recommend putting Saturday 14 August in your calendar - the men play Ukraine and the women play Slovakia, both in Birmingham, if you want to .

Much more is going on around the world while these events are happening in Britain. For example, if you didn't notice Sam Weale recently becoming the , you can follow him and his British team-mates at the Worlds in China.

Then there are the badminton Worlds in Paris, the sprint canoeing Worlds in Poland, sailing's Finn Gold Cup and RS:X windsurfing Worlds, the basketball Worlds and the women's boxing Worlds in Barbados - not forgetting boxing's Night of Champions in Cardiff, which features "".

And, if that still isn't enough, try the in Manchester. I spent a day there last week and it's a fast, furious sport where England are a genuine threat at international level. No 2012 worries or funded athletes here, only a group of people with ordinary jobs, paying for the privilege of putting on an England jersey.

Anything else I've missed out? Let me know. Just don't tell me you miss the World Cup. Sport's a lot more fun when there isn't an octopus spoiling the ending.