Liam Phillips knows he must expand his repertoire to aid his bid for Olympic glory . The 26-year-old from Burnham-on-Sea won the 2013 BMX world title and was the World Cup series champion in 2014 . Phillips , who races in the Manchester World Cup event this weekend , plans to use 2015 to experiment with tactics in a bid to arrive at the start gate in Rio full of confidence . Liam Phillips in action during the 2012 Olympics , and the 26-year-old is hoping for glory in Rio . 'There are certain areas I need to improve to get on the gate in Rio and know that I 've done everything I can to be as good , if not better , than my competitors in every single area , ' Phillips said . 'The sport is continuing to improve and I need to continue to improve . 'There 's challenges this season that I would love to accomplish , which do n't necessarily mean going to a race and winning . 'Last year in Argentina I was in second and almost passed the reigning Olympic champion ( Latvia 's Maris Strombergs ) for the win . 'That 's something I feel I 'd like a little bit more exposure to - not being out in front and having to try to pass some of the best guys to come back and win . That would add to my box of tricks come the Olympics . ' Phillips would dearly love to reclaim the world title he won in Auckland two years ago at this year 's World Championships in Belgium in July . 2013 World Champion Phillips hopes to use this year to hone his tactics ahead of the 2016 Olympics . The Somerset ace was the taken out by an ill-thought manoeuvre by France 's Damien Godet in Rotterdam last year , ending his stint in the rainbow jersey . Phillips knows his performances in recent seasons mean he is a key rival others will do anything to beat . ' I do have a target on me , because I have performed at a high level over the last few years and I have been world champion , ' he added . 'Last year 's World Championships was so frustrating because I sacrificed doing a few races before then because I wanted to chuck everything at retaining that title . ' I was absolutely flying and I know that given the opportunity to continue racing I would certainly have been more than capable of retaining that , but that 's BMX . 'It 's just the nature of it . I do n't like to dwell on that . I want to push forward now . ' Phillips won the Manchester World Cup event in 2014 and knows he will be expected to perform once again on his home track in Saturday 's time-trials and Sunday 's Super Cross , where eight riders race at the same time . Phillips failed to defend his title last year , but is determined to take it back this July in Belgium . He added : ' I look back at the World Cup last year and I 've never experienced pressure like that . Being reigning world champion , everybody expects you to win . 'There 's 150 guys in the race , but everybody is looking at this as my race . It 's something I seem to be able to manage and thrive on in some respects . ' Phillips leads a five-rider British team , which also features 2014 World Championships bronze medallist Tre Whyte , Kyle Evans and Quillan Isidore . Charlotte Green is the only female representative , although three-time BMX world champion Shanaze Reade is back in the British Cycling set-up , training with the track team .
Liam Phillips was World Cup series champion in 2014 . But Phillips wants to use the 2015 series to develop his tactics for Rio . TL;DR The U.S. men's soccer team is preparing for a crucial match against Belgium on Saturday, but it will be without star forward Jozy Altidore and midfielder Michael Bradley because of injuries.