Watson Lake cyclist Zach Bell has been named to the shortlist of Canadian athletes being considered for the omnium event at the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

Official selections won't be confirmed until June 15, but by all accounts Bell will be heading to his second Olympics.

"Only two were named to the ominum event and the other one is retired so I'm feeling pretty confident,” said Bell.

Bell is training and preparing with his SpiderTech team as if he's already been selected.

"I'm just working on getting ready for the Games, trying to stay healthy and doing the things I need to do,” he said.

"I can't wait until then to start preparing so I'm training assuming I'm going to make the team.”

After finishing seventh and 12th in the points race and the Madison events at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Bell insists things will be different this time around.

"I know what to expect, how to approach it and I know what the preparation is going to be like.

"I know now there's a different kind of focus and a different kind of intensity that goes into preparing for the Olympics,” he told the Star.

"I'm going in as a medal favourite, it's a totally different kind of experience. 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.”

It's been a strong season for Bell, including a recent silver medal performance at the 2012 UCI Track World Championships in Melbourne, Australia in April.

"I've had some personal bests and I've been really consistent in the event I would be competing in at the Games, so it's a pretty big deal to maintain those results, especially in an Olympic year,” he said.

The omnium will be a new event in the Olympics this year and is cycling's version of a decathlon.

It 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 acknowledges the unique opportunity he has to set a historic standard in the first Olympic appearance of the ominum.

"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,” said Bell.

Bell, who splits his time between his home in North Vancouver and his team's training facility in Los Angeles, said he's working to improve his overall performance despite being on the podium in almost every race this season.

"I'm trying to step everything up another level, in this case you try and make no exceptions,” he said.

"There's gains to be made in all six events of the ominum and it's just a matter of honing that focus down a little better and improving.”