British kick off championships on positive note

Day 1 - morning session

The British national team, including Steven Burke, Edward Clancy, Jason Queally and Andrew Tennant, won the men's team pursuit qualifying with a time of 4:01.953. The four Brits will take on the runner-up team of Russia, including Ivan Kovalev, Evgeny Kovalev, Alexei Markov and Alexander Serov, who clocked a 4:03.690. Holland and Spain fought their way through to the bronze medal match, with the times of 4:06.693 and 4:07.865 respectively.

In men's team sprint qualifying, the German national team got the best time and will face off against France in the finals. The German riders Robert Förstemann, Maximilian Levy and Stefan Nimke stopped the clock in 43.968 seconds while the French team was represented by Michael Almeida, Francois Pervis and Kevin Sireau, who qualified with a 44.102-second time. The British and Polish national teams will race for third place.

In the women's team sprint qualifying, British riders Victoria Pendleton and Jessica Varnish finished in 33.381 and moved onto the finals along with Frenchwomen Sandie Clair and Clara Sanchez, who qualified in 33.521. Germany and Holland will face off for the bronze.

British female riders followed in their male colleagues' footsteps and won the qualifications in the women's team pursuit.  The British team included Katie Colclough, Wendy Houvenaghel and Laura Trott, and they recorded a 3:24.916. Lithuanian cyclists Vaida Pikauskaite, Vilija Sereikaite and Ausrine Trebaite qualified second in 3:28.011. The Belorussian and German teams will face off for the bronze.

Day 1 - evening session

The British quartet of Steven Burke, Edward Clancy, Jason Queally and Andrew Tennant powered to glory in the men’s team pursuit with a solid win over Russia in the final. After recording the quickest time in qualifying, the Great Britain team was faster again in the final, clocking 4:00.482 to beat the Russians by almost four seconds.

The time gaps were tight in the opening laps before the class of the British four told and they pulled away to victory over the Russians Ivan Kovalev, Evgeny Kovalev, Alexei Markov and Alexander Serov. “The Russians were looking alright and we knew we had a good fight ahead of us,” Britain’s Ed Clancy explained. “Fortunately, they cracked before we did and I think we rode better in the final there.”

Meanwhile, the Netherlands pipped Spain for the bronze medal with a steady 4km on the boards at Pruszkow.

Great Britain underlined its dominance of European pursuiting with a dominant victory in the women’s team pursuit. The trio of Katie Colcough, Wendy Houvenghel and Laura Trott put over 6.5 seconds into Lithuania’s Vaida Pikauskaite, Vilija Sereikaite and Ausrine Trebaite over the 3,000 metres in a race that was never in doubt from the first pedal strokes.

“Technically, it felt spot on,” Laura Trott said of her senior gold medal-winning ride. “We got our changes right and the finish was good. I can’t wait for the next two days now.”

The bronze medal match-up was a far closer-run affair, however. The German team of Lisa Brennauer, Verena Jooss and Madeleine Sandig just edged out Belarus by a little under three tenths of a second.

While the pursuit finals were dominated by Britain, the team sprint gold medals were to go elsewhere. In the women’s event, Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish were edged out by the French duo of Sandi Clair and Clara Sanchez in a tight race. Germany’s Kristina Vogel and Miriam Welte took the bronze ahead of the Dutch duo Willy Kanis and Yvonne Higenaar.

Pendleton felt that, technically, the British performance left a little to be desired. “We didn’t quite have as slick a performance in the final than we did this morning,” she said. “My change was awful, it was amateur and that probably cost a tenth or so. Jess did a fantastic job and I think she paid for the false start a little bit.”

In the men’s team sprint, Germany and France faced off in a thrilling final. Ultimately, it was the German team of Robert Forstemann, Max Levy and Stefan Nimke who took the win ahead of Michaël D’Almeida, François Pervis and Kevin Sireau. Great Britain’s team of Matt Crampton, Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny edged out Poland for the final step on the podium.

Results

Men's Team Sprint finals

Women's Team Sprint Finals