Great Britain dominates the team pursuit events at home

Great Britain dominated the racing on their home track in Manchester on day one of the World Cup, winning medals in every event and proving yet again they are the absolute master of the team pursuit event, with the women’s quartet twice setting a new world record.

The women’s team pursuit is now four-kilometre long, with each team fielding four riders just like the men. London 2012 Olympic champions Laura Trott, Dani King and Joanna Rowsell have teamed up with former junior world time trial champion Elinor Barker to create an unbeatable Great Britain women’s quartet and they twice broke their own record for the new distance much to the joy of the loyal Manchester crowd.

The Great Britain men’s quartet also won their race, while Great Britain took a silver medal in the women’s team sprint behind Germany. Germany also dominates the men’s team sprint, beating Russia. Great Britain beat New Zealand to take the bronze.

Poland’s Malgorzata Wojtyra won the women’s scratch race ahead of Scotland’s Kate Archibald and Tetyana Klimchenko of the Ukraine.

Faster and faster

The women’s team pursuit set a new world record at the recent European track championships but were much faster on their home track, breaking the 4:20 barrier for the first time to stop the clock at 4:19.604. That was four seconds faster than their qualifying ride and meant they beat Canada by eight seconds. Australia was a distant third with a time of 4:30. 831.

"Over the next three years you'll see that record get lower and lower. We all live and die for the team pursuit. It's great to be back here, racing for a home crowd, and it's exciting to go out and break world records again,” Joanna Rowsell happily told BBC Sport.

"A few of the top nations weren't here so we're not getting complacent. The rest of the world is really going to grow into this event over the next few years."

The Great Britain men’s team pursuit is rebuilding after the success of London 2012 but also showed it has the speed as their attention turns to Rio 2016.

Olympic champions Ed Clancy and Steven Burke were joined by Andy Tennant and Owain Doull, qualifying fastest earlier in the day before defeating Australia with a time 3:58.654. It was well off their record of 3:51 659 set at the London Olympics but was enough to beat historic rivals Australia yet again by two seconds. Denmark beat the Netherlands in the ride for the bronze medal with a time of 4:02.413.

"We keep saying this is a developing team but when you think back to 2008, when we had the World Championships here [in which a GB team featuring Thomas and Bradley Wiggins won world gold, then the Olympic title], we're not a million miles off that now - with a so-called development team," experienced anchorman Clancy told the BBC.

Great Britain has slipped in the team sprint event, where three sprinters join forces and lead for a lap each before peeling off.

Germany qualified fastest in a time of 43.351 and won the final against Russia in 43.293. The German women’s team was equally as dominant. The duo of Miriam Welte and Kristina Vogel set a time of 32.788 for their two-lap effort. Great Britain finished almost a second slower, while the Max Success Pro Cycling team won the ride for bronze.

Belgium’s Japser De Buyst lead the men’s Omnium after consistent rides in the flying lap, points race and elimination race. The event will continue on Saturday afternoon and evening, with the women’s Omnium also getting underway. Other events include the women’s sprint, the men’s Keirin and men’s points race.

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