Team GB’s men’s Madison duo have had “less practice” than the women’s team who stormed to victory on Friday and “anything could happen” in their final, the father of one of the cyclists has said.

Cyclists Ethan Hayter, 22, and Matt Walls, 23, are aiming for gold against Denmark and Australia at the Tokyo Games while their families and friends watch from around the world.

The pair will be following a record-breaking performance by Team GB’s Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald, who blew away the competition to write their names in history as the winners of the first ever Olympic women’s Madison.

Hayter’s father, Tim, has been watching his son progress through the Games from a holiday in Sitges on the Spanish coast with his wife Nicky, other son Leo and daughter Lucy.

The family settled for the holiday after they had booked two weeks off to watch the Games in Tokyo – but coronavirus meant spectators were not allowed to attend.

When asked how he was feeling ahead of the race, Mr Hayter said: “Madisons are a tricky one… Katie and Laura made it look pretty straightforward this morning, but most Madisons aren’t very straightforward, so anything could happen.

“Hopefully they get round in one piece, that would be a good start.

“Matt and Ethan both have a career on the road as road cyclists and they haven’t had much chance to ride together recently because of their road commitments, so they’re in a bit of a different position to Laura and Katie because they haven’t done that much practising.

“But they have done a lot of Madisons together in the past, so I’m hoping that they can pull it off tomorrow.”

Mr Hayter added that his son calls “most days” and told the family he was feeling “pretty good” the night before the race.

“I think Matt Walls’ omnium performance yesterday was a big boost,” he said.

Walls claimed a superb win in the men’s omnium on Thursday, bringing Team GB back from a disappointing seventh place in the men’s team pursuit.

Mr Hayter added: “Although Covid has made it quite difficult for him and for us – he hasn’t been able to meet people because of isolation, and they didn’t really get the result they wanted in the team pursuit – he’s loving every second of it.

“Japan looks amazing, where they’re staying looks amazing – you can see Mount Fuji from the hotel bedroom. It’s a bit different to Manchester.”

He described Hayter and Walls, who share a flat together in Manchester, as “down-to-earth, ordinary kids” whose inspiring performances at the Olympics are giving people “something to look forward to and some excitement”.

“We’ve had so many people sending us good luck messages, at a time when life’s quite tough for a lot of people because of the pandemic and lockdowns, it has been something which has really given people something to look forward to and some excitement,” he said.

“These lads are down-to-earth, ordinary kids, and school friends have been in contact saying good luck.

“It’s been a really nice way of bringing people together to celebrate something regardless of what the results are.”

Mr Hayter added that his son was “quite sporty as a kid” and had a natural talent for cycling after trying out their local Herne Hill Velodrome aged 13.

The London-born athlete joined Team GB when he was just 16 years old.