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Nearly 300 Canadian athletes are now in London for the Summer Olympics.

Three of them are from the Yukon.

Zach Bell, Jeane Lassen and Brittanee Laverdure will each don the maple leaf for the 27th running of the Summer Games.

Bell has a legitimate chance to etch his name into the Canadian and Olympic record books.

The 29-year-old cyclist will be competing in the omnium cycling, a six-stage event that is making its inaugural appearance at the Olympics.

It will be the second Olympic appearance for Bell, who finished seventh and 12th overall in the points race and Madison event at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

With one Olympic experience underneath his belt, Bell knows what to expect this time around as he competes in the prime of his career.

"I'm going in as a medal favourite, it's a totally different kind of experience,鈥� he told the Star earlier this year.

"You're going in with a single-minded objective more so than just getting the experience which is what it was like last time for me.鈥�

This past year has been one of the best seasons of Bell's career.

He earned a second place finish at the World Championship in Melbourne, Australia in April and placed third in a World Cup test event in London this past February.

The omnium is a six-stage multi disciplinary event.

You have to be well rounded in every aspect to stand a chance at a medal.

Bell has the advantage of years of training for the now defunct points race which is included as one of the vents on the omnium.

"The (omnium) event has such a high demand of specific abilities, but requires a long term and dynamic general plan,鈥� Bell wrote on his blog this past March.

"You need to be proficient and comfortable at most distances. The challenge with that is time related. Training just one ability to an internationally competitive level is time consuming. Training six is an uphill battle you are likely to never win. Especially given that some of the disciplines seem to work against each other.鈥�

The omnium consists of six events, staged across two days: the one-lap sprint, a 30-kilometre points race, a pursuit, a scratch, an elimination, and a one-km time trail.

The rider with the lowest point total at the end wins.

Bell rides and trains with Team SpiderTech, who are based out of California, splitting time between the training facility and his North Vancouver home.

Canada's cycling team is regarded in many circles as the strongest the nation has produced since the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

On the women's side, Tara Whitten of Edmonton is also a medal favourite in the omnium.

Whitten won world titles in the event in 2010 and 2011, and finished fourth overall this year.

Canada hasn't stepped on the podium for cycling since Lori-Ann Muenzer won gold in the women's sprint in 2004 in Athens, Greece.

Both Whitten and Bell will be looking to change that.

"Just being part of the Olympics is pretty cool but it's different when it's a new event and having the opportunity to be one of the first ones to do something in that event is pretty neat,鈥� said Bell.

Both Laverdure and Lassen will be in London as alternates.

It will be the second time Laverdure has been in the position as she also served as an alternate at the Beijing Olympics.

Laverdure has a chance to secure the one available spot on the mat with Canada this past December at the Canadian Olympic Trials at the University of Winnipeg's Duckworth Centre.

Unfortunately, Laverudre placed second overall, losing to Tonya Verbeek of Ontario.

The same scenario played out in Beijing, where Laverdure was the first alternate behind Verbeek.

Verbeek went on capture bronze at those Games and also won silver at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

It could be the last Olympics for Laverdure who graduated from law school in April and is begining the transition from the mat to the courtroom.

Lassen earned her spot as an alternate despite suffering from a herniated disc and being unable to compete at the Canada Senior Championships.

Her previous showings throughout the season were strong enough to keep her name in the running but after Annie Manqui of Quebec won gold at the senior championships; Lassen was knocked out of the third and final spot on the team.

Lassen also competed in Beijing, where she finished eight overall.

The 31 year-old retired from the sport in 2009 but less than two years later, she was back in the gym and competing at a national level.

In three weeks of training, Lassen went on to sin silver at the Western Canadian Championships and another silver at the Canadian Senior Weightlifting Championships.

Canada will be looking to build on the momentum from Beijing, where they placed 14th overall after collecting 18 medals, including three gold.

The U.S., China and Russia dominated the Beijing Games, collecting110,100 and 72 medals, respectively.