On the first day of training at the Rio Olympic Velodrome, two legendary gold medal-winning cyclists nearly coincided on the track: Anna Meares of Australia and Kristina Vogel of Germany.

The Australian team's training slot began just as the Germans finished their session on the afternoon of Thursday (28 July). But although the two athletes have one of cycling's great rivalries, away from the track the two Olympic champions get on well and they exchanged friendly words as they passed each other at the velodrome.

"We are actually neighbours in the village," Vogel said afterwards. "We see each other around a lot here."

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The 25-year-old from Erfurt in central Germany won gold at London 2012 in the team sprint with team-mate Miriam Welte. The two are both back to defend their title in Rio.  A seven-time world champion, Vogel will also be participating in the sprint and keirin events in Rio; she is the reigning world champion in the keirin.

If Vogel is to add to her gold medal haul in Rio, she will have to outperform her new neighbour from Australia. Rio 2016 will be the fourth Olympic Games for 32-year-old Meares, who has five Olympic medals to her name, including golds in the sprint and time trial.

Members of the Australian track cycling squad, including Anna Meares, followed Vogel's German team onto the track (Photo: Mark Beresford/Rio 2016)

Meares, who will be the Australian flagbearer in the opening ceremony of 5 August, is eager to make amends for her last Olympic meeting with the German. At London 2012, Meares and team-mate Kaarle McCulloch had to settle for bronze behind Vogel and Welte.

At the world track cycling championships in London in March this year, Vogel won gold in the keirin ahead of Meares on silver.

In what promises to be a very closely contested track cycling competition in Rio, Vogel and Meares will not have it all their own way. Speaking on Thursday after training, Vogel singled out China's Zhong Tianshi and Russia's Anastasia Voynova as two major rivals for medals. Both women outperformed Vogel in the world championships this year in the sprint and team sprint events.

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In her favour, Vogel said the brand-new track in Rio would suit her: "I think it's a good track for me. I like it. I don't think it will be too fast in the Olympics. The wood is too new still."

Vogel arrived on Rio on Tuesday and on her first full day in the city cycled down to a local beach with her team-mates.

"This is my first time in Rio and I haven't seen anything yet," she said. "When my races are over I want to stay and do some sight-seeing and take a tour."

"It is very exciting to be here," she added, before heading back to the village – by bicycle, natürlich.