UCI Track Worlds: Australia smash team pursuit record

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The Australian men's team pursuiters showed they have not been resting on their laurels as world record holders, and the team of Leigh Howard, Kelland O'Brien, Samuel Welsford and Alex Porter crushed their previous mark by nearly two seconds to win the gold medal. The quartet clocked a 3:48.012 for the 4km event to top Great Britain.

"I am lost for words, this team is proving to be more and more special every time we come together," O'Brien said, while Howard added, "What can I say except thank you, I am so grateful to be a part of this team.

"I am fortunate that I have come back into the program with such a fantastic group, not just the riders but the staff has developed so much since I was last in the program and I couldn't be more thankful to everyone."

The crowd in the Pruszkow velodrome were on their feet as Australia led on each lap of the head-to-head race with the Olympic champions Great Britain, putting in an astoundingly consistent performance to set their new record.

"I'm a bit emotional," said coach Tim Decker. "It's been a fantastic night and we probably exceeded our expectations in regard to time in the team pursuit. We came in here with a real focus to nail our ride and try to execute a good, skilled ride and try to find a way to make it happen and give those guys a chance to chase the rainbow bands and they were hungry to chase."

"Its a bit surreal to be honest," said Porter. "I knew the boys were going quick, but I didn't think we were going that fast. I can't put this into words properly, its crazy. It has been a rough season, I missed the first half rehabbing. Ten weeks ago when I broke eight bones and punctured a lung, I was just hoping to be here."

The British team admitted to some mistakes but were satisfied with their time, even if it meant going home with silver and not gold.

"We were a little bit messy to be honest we could tidy up and be quicker. We're not going to walk away from here and be disappointed with 3:50.8. We've got more to come, and just disappointed not to win a world title," Ethan Hayter said

Clancy added, "The Australians are good, they've been good for a long time, they were favourites coming in here.

"That said we rode really well yesterday – I guess tonight we saw what they're capable of and we've got to face up to that.

"We always seem to perform our best performances at the Olympics and I've not got a reason to think that's not going to be the case this time as well."

In the bronze medal final, Canada took the early lead but had to settle for fourth place behind Denmark.

With only 30 minutes to recover from that record-setting gold-medal ride, Welsford entered the men's scratch race final and surged to another victory over Roy Eefting (Netherlands) and Thomas Sexton of New Zealand.

"It has been a crazy thirty minutes, I am gobsmacked," Welsford said. "To do a forty-eight with my boys Kel, Cam, Leigh, Porter, that's the best thing I could ever imagine. To break our own world record and leading into the Olympics next year is bloody awesome. The icing on the cake is the win in the scratch race. It's a dream come true for us."

Australia's women's team pursuit squad then followed up the men's performance with a hard-fought victory over Great Britain to win the gold medal.

Ashlee Ankudinoff, Amy Cure, Annette Edmondson and Georgia Baker establishing a lead of half a second after one kilometre on the British squad of Laura Kenny, Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker and Eleanor Dickinson, but the British fought back, keeping the gap tight throughout the 4km.

While the British put in a brilliant late surge to bring down a nearly one-second gap to just two-tenths of a second in the final four laps, it wasn't enough. Australia won 4:14.333 to 4:14.537.

"It still hasn't sunk in, we always believed we could do it," said Edmondson, who shared in the 2015 world title with Cure and Ankudinoff. "We've got a great team vibe at the moment, everyone is really positive and really relaxed coming in and in a good mental space, so when you see your teammates doing well you do the same! We did all we could out there and we're really happy to be world champions!"

For Baker, it was the first world title, and she was ecstatic. "At the moment I am struggling for words I am so proud and happy be in the rainbows. We have worked super hard, not just us but also Macey and Kristina back at home. They deserve every bit of this too," Baker said.

The British team hid the fact that Laura Kenny was ill, and after the evening session the federation issued a press release saying that Kenny was abandoning plans to race the Omnium.

"I am absolutely gutted to announce that I won't be riding in the Omnium at the world championships," she said. "I haven't been feeling right all week for reasons we're not sure of, but we do know my performances in the team pursuit over the last two days have been well off where I have been in training over the last two weeks.

"I would have given the Omnium my best shot and I really wanted to do it but with the depth of the squad it was decided that it was better that I didn't compete and give someone else the opportunity. I agree with the decision and I think Katie will do a brilliant job. I wish her, and all my team mates, the best of luck for the rest of the competition."

At the end of the evening, Matthijs Buchli (Netherlands) claimed the victory in the men's keirin, the only other medal competition of the session, with Japan's Yudai Nitta taking silver over Germany's Stefan Botticher.

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