This time four years ago, six months out from the Beijing Olympics, Anna Meares had just fractured her neck, dislocated a shoulder and was millimetres away from needing support to breathe for the rest of her life.

A remarkable recovery from the race crash that nearly cost the Queensland cyclist her life culminated in a brave-hearted silver medal in the women’s sprint in Beijing.

To say she’s in a much better position with six months to go to the London Games is an “understatement”, Meares admits.

She’s just won three gold medals at the national track titles in Adelaide and is fit and healthy. She needs to be, she says, as the competition at the London Olympics will be a massive step up from Beijing.

“I’m so pleased I’ve been able to have thus far an uninterrupted preparation, because I’m going to need it,” the eight-time world champion and 2004 Olympic gold medallist said on Monday.

“I really believe that this time around, there’s no coming back from any kind of interference or hurdle that might present itself. Because the level of performance now has exceeded everything before.”

Following her sprint, team sprint and keirin gold medals at the nationals to match the world titles she won last year, her Olympic campaign takes progressive steps between now and July.

Starting with a World Cup leg in London from February 17, followed by the world championships in Melbourne a month later, Meares is building toward possible triple gold at the Olympics.

“The London World Cup will be like a mini world championships given that everyone will want to get a piece of what the Olympic track will feel like, and I guess you can’t get better preparation for a worlds than that.

“And you can’t get better preparation for an Olympics than a world titles.”

She’s certainly aiming to go one better in the Olympic sprint in London and is also chasing gold in the keirin, but it’s her combination with Kaarle McCulloch in the team sprint that carries the most expectation.

They have won the past three world championships and can make it a fourth in Melbourne in March but the ultimate goal is the Olympics and the competition is closing in.

The Chinese recently fell just short of Meares’ and McCulloch’s world record and the London World Cup meeting will also give the Australians a good insight into how close Germany and Britain are getting.

“I think this is going to be the first time all the big contenders for the team sprint will be out there battling each other so we’re really looking forward to that,” Meares said.

“We’re not getting complacent with the fact we have had great success in the event.

“They want to get on the top step and we want to stay there. We have to work out how we go about staying there.”