The teenage sprint sensation is simply growing too fast.

In the last four weeks, since he left Australia for pre-Games training camps in Europe, the 19-year-old has shot up two centimetres to 185cm.

A growth spurt like that might be common enough to people of his age.

But for a highly tuned sprint cyclist, whose job it is to punch out a lighting quick first lap in the three-man team sprint, it is a considerable problem.

While his bones have been growing as he sleeps, Ellis's muscles and tendons have struggled to keep up, posing potentially serious performance and injury concerns precariously close to the Olympics.

Several times a day Ellis has had to undergo a gruelling stretching regime to help his body adjust to its new height in time for Beijing.

''I've had a bit of a growth spurt, which I suppose is a thing that happens when you're going through your teen years,'' Ellis said from the Australian track team's base in Buettgen, Germany.

''I've had to stretch by myself after every session then have the strength and conditioning coach really get into me.

''I'm having to go through a lot of pain and effort, but it's all worth it in the long run.''

''It's getting over it now, starting to feel a lot more energized.''

Proof of that was in his most recent training sessions where he produced a personal best 2510 watts of power, an extraordinary performance that would be the envy of top Tour de France sprinters.

Fortunately growing pains haven't been a problem for the rest of Ellis's squadmates Mark French, 23, Ryan Bayley, 26, and the elder statesman, soon-to-be five-time Olympian Shane Kelly, 36.

But they've all been feeling another kind of pain in gruelling training rides on concrete tracks in Italy.

The surface provides greater friction and makes training harder. But Ellis said the team's recent move to faster wooden tracks in Germany, similar to what they'll compete on in Beijing, signalled the Games were finally almost upon them.

''We're getting there. We're getting really quick, so watch out for us at the Games.''