In the case of top level cyclists, your journey may have taken you to the foot of the Swiss Alps and into the small town of Aigle. Located in the Canton of Vaud, the town is home to the International Cycling Union’s (UCI) World Cycling Centre, where the governing body are based.

Around 120 riders will be trained under the guidance of the UCI’s coaches, on average, throughout the course of a year at the centre, which was opened in 2002. The facility boasts a 200 metre indoor track and a 400m BMX Supercross track with two start ramps, with the latter opened for the first time in 2014.

Understandably, the facility attracts numerous riders from both track and BMX disciplines, but it also regularly welcomes road cyclists.

When walking around the track during a visit to the centre - to see the UCI’s tablet system to detect technological fraud in action - riders from Brazil, Rwanda and South Korea were among those using the facilities. Neither of the three nations would be viewed as being cycling superpowers, but one of the main purposes of the centre is to help develop riders from less equipped countries.

Cyclists from Asia, Eastern Europe and South America are among those to benefit from expert coaching and guidance. The governing body takes on the costs for the developing riders to come to the centre, including accommodation, which has a maximum capacity of 40 at any given time.

To be selected to join one of the high level courses, it is likely that a cyclist will have passed through one of the UCI’s satellite centres. Based in South Africa, Japan, South Korea, Argentina and a recently launched centre in New Dehli, India, the satellites are viewed by the governing body as regional hubs which will promote the sport.

However, the centres are also tasked with scouting, identifying and bringing in the best talent in the region. It is hoped this will offer the cyclists a better chance to hone their abilities, due to the higher standard of facilities available in Switzerland.

Riders will often come recommended by their National Olympic Committees or National Cycling Federations, with their abilities then put to the test by the centre’s coaching staff.

As well as aiding the local talent to develop their careers, the performances of the riders at the centre on the world stage could be seen as crucial to the continued development of their regions, with success breeding further success.

For instance, it is hoped Indian youngster Deborah Herold, who become the first female rider from her country to compete at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships earlier this year, will become the first of many from India to make the jump to the highest level.

When first arriving at the World Cycling Centre in Aigle, cyclists will be sent to the doctors for medical screening, before being put through their paces in a variety of performance tests. While power data testing would be carried out at a satellite centre, the riders will be expected to undergo lung function, body composition and lactate testing to assess their physical capabilities.

Bike fittings will also be conducted with the use of 3D motion capture technology and the cyclists will be able to count on the assistance of a team of five mechanics, located in a workshop at the centre, and a further two who travel alongside the riders to support them at events.

Boasting around 400 bikes, the workshop will also be the home to several coaches for would-be mechanics, who are looking to join a professional team or a National Federation. Under expert guidance, they are able to take part in courses lasting between four or five weeks, depending on their level.

The centre will predominately take on riders from junior level, at around 16-years-old, up to under-23 level, and will look to help them find continental teams during their stay.

However, it also regularly houses the training camps of National Federations, who can book times in which they would like to use the facilities.

Professional road teams are also among the visitors, with the centre ideally located between key training bases in Italy and France.

During the UCI BMX Supercross season, the non-European based stars are among those who are anticipated to be using the professional standard track.

With BMX tracks at a premium in certain countries, riders from Australia and Eastern Europe are likely to check in to prepare for key World Cup events in Manchester and Papendal.

Inspiration can be found for the riders in Aigle throughout the centre, which is scheduled to host this year’s Junior Track Cycling World Championships.

The bike used by Austria’s Matthias Brändle to set the then UCI Hour Record in 2014 is among the items displayed around the fringes of the track, while a Hall of Fame shows numerous well-known riders who have attended the centre en-route to success.

Britain’s two-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome is among the list of names, although he only trained at the centre for a couple of months.

Eritrean riders Natnael Berhane and Daniel Teklehaimanot also feature, with the duo coming through the centre on their way to making history by being named in the MTN-Qhubeka team, now known as Dimension Data, which became the first African registered team in the Tour de France last year.

Teklehaimanot also earned his own personal slice of history by becoming the first African rider to wear the King of the Mountains jersey in the race.

While the duo are now tackling the world’s biggest races during the UCI World Tour, it appears likely that there will be plenty more developing cyclists following behind, having spent time at the World Cycling Centre.