And Park is confident he can transfer the skills he picked up leading the sailors ahead of taking on the new role in spring 2017.

“I feel privileged and excited to be given this opportunity, and look forward to building on the high-performance culture at British Cycling,” he said.

“My role will be to lead the team, support the coaches and the wider staff to continue delivering successful programmes which enable the athletes to fulfil their tremendous potential.

British Cycling president Bob Howden believes Park will now play an integral role in fulfilling their ambition to top the Olympic and Paralympic medal tables at Tokyo 2020.

“We are delighted to welcome Stephen to British Cycling,” he said. “The performance director role is integral to our ambitions looking ahead to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond.

“Following our tremendous success at Rio, we are now at the start of another four-year cycle; one which brings great challenges but also great opportunities to build on success.

“We are confident that, in Stephen, we have the right person in the role to guide us through this cycle and fulfil our ambition to finish top of both medal tables and remain the number one cycling nation in the world.”