By Milly McEvoy, Sportsbeat

Jo Rowsell insists Britain's women's track endurance team are still Olympic medal prospects despite the high-profile losses of Katie Archibald and Laura Kenny.

Archibald has been forced to miss the Paris 2024 Games after a freak injury in June while Kenny retired in March as Britain's most successful female Olympian. It means that the team heading the French capital are without their two most experienced members.

But former teammate Rowsell, who will be working with Eurosport and discovery+ for their coverage of the Games, said: "It is a really big loss for Katie personally. I am gutted for her that she is not able to compete in the Games.  

"If we had spoken a few weeks ago I would have said she was favourite for three gold medals in Paris and that wouldn't have been a wild prediction.

"So I am gutted for her personally but for the squad - I still think we have the potential to win the team pursuit, I still think we can win the madison and we have got an outside chance in the omnium.

"They have brought Neah Evans in for the omnium and Neah and Elinor Barker won the madison at the World Championships last year.

"That would have been an event Katie would have ridden in Paris but I think we've got such good strength and depth in the women's endurance.

"With the two team events, I feel like we are still looking at a gold medal, that will be tough, it would have been tough with Katie there as well, but I do think we have got the talent that we still need to be aiming for those golds."

Watch every moment of Olympic Games Paris 2024 live only on discovery+, the streaming home of the Olympics.

Rowsell was part of the team pursuit team alongside Archibald and Barker who won gold in Rio, with the former winning the same event at London 2012. Britain were dethroned as team pursuit champion at Tokyo 2020, losing to Germany in the gold medal final.

At the World Championships in Glasgow last year, they won the team pursuit title with Anna Morris and Josie Knight part of the team in the final. And it is Knight who Rowsell is backing to continue the track endurance legacy that began with her, Laura Kenny and Dani Rowe back at London 2012.

She added: "They are big shoes to fill those of Laura Kenny's. Elinor Barker is on her third Games now, she got a gold in Rio and a silver in Tokyo.

"She's competing in two events in Paris, she is competing in two events in Paris and high hopes for El to win two gold medals.

"She has also come back from having a baby as well, so another of the mother's in the squad who is doing really well.

"We've also got part of the team Josie Knight, she was part of the squad in Tokyo and is also in Paris and she is a super strong team pursuiter she has really focused on that event.

"She is one of the engines of the squad. Jess Roberts is one of the riders coming through, she is going to be part of the team pursuit squad and she is a really talented rider in the bunch events so the madison and omnium as well."

Watch every moment of Olympic Games Paris 2024 live only on discovery+, the streaming home of the Olympics.