Laura Kenny, Katie Archibald, Emily Nelson and Emily Kay staged a storming late fightback as they snatched victory over Australia in a pulsating team pursuit final on the opening night of action at the Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Berlin.
It was a truly sensational effort by the British quartet, who were significantly down on the Australians with as little as three laps left.
However, far from panicking or rushing, they cranked through the gears at an incredible pace and reined in their counterparts with perfect timing to power to a sensational victory.
It was a masterful display of tactics by the British side as they stuck to their guns and took up the now familiar position of being on top of the rostrum after finishing in 4:16.153.
Sprint silver for men's team
It was one of two medals won on an impressive evening for the Brits, with Jason Kenny, Phlip Hindes and Ryan Owens sealing team sprint silver against the Netherlands in their final.
Kenny, Owens and Jack Carlin had impressed in the qualification and knockout stages, twice setting a track record which were beaten by the Dutch immediately afterwards.
The two form teams looked a class above the rest as they lined up for the final, with Britain edging ahead in the early stages, Hindes replacing Carlin for the lineup.
However, superb power from the Dutch trio of Jeffrey Hoogland, Harrie Lavreysen and Nils van ’t Hoenderdaal ensured the gold medal went back to the Netherlands.
Fifth for Marchant and Bate
Katy Marchant and Lauren Bate’s challenge ended at the last eight stage, after they lost out to Miriam Welte and Emma Hinze.
The German duo, who went on to claim silver, crossed the line half a second faster than the British pair, who had qualified in fifth earlier in the evening and finished in the same position.
Aussies too strong for men's pursuit squad
However, it was not to be in the men’s team pursuit as the quartet of Ed Clancy, Charlie Tanfield, Kian Emadi and Ollie Wood were beaten in the quarter-finals by Australia.
It was a quality Australian team which proved too quick for Britain’s riders as they crossed the line two seconds in arrears.
The HUUB-Wattbike Test Team fared better however, qualifying for the bronze-medal race where they narrowly lost out to Canada.
The four of John Archibald, Dan Bigham, Ashton Lambie and Jonny Wale stopped the clock in 3:57.094 - less than a second away from earning a spot on the podium.
