Skier-turned-cyclist Alain Baxter admitted he will be stepping into the unknown when he finally makes his long-await debut on the track at the Revolution event in Manchester.

Baxter had hoped to appear for the first time at the National Championships in October but was forced to pull out at the 11th hour after being struck down with flu.

The 35-year-old faces stiff competition with Olympic medallists Jamie Staff, Craig Maclean and Ross Edgar all set to line up alongside him in the 200m time-trial on December 5.

Baxter is coached by Sir Chris Hoy’s former mentor Dave Clark and insisted his ambitions to compete at next year’s Commonwealth Games hinge on his performance in Manchester.

“Revolution will be my first competitive race, so it's a bit like entering the unknown,” said Baxter.

“But I'm really excited about it. I've been training hard at the sprints and was really disappointed about having to pull out of the nationals.

“This will be my first chance to discover how I measure up against the pros.”