London 2012 Olympics: GB women’s pursuit latest victors in gold factory

THE question wasn’t really whether they would win, but by how much. Britain’s female team pursuiters had ridden together five times before last night’s final against the USA. And they had set five world records.

Now make that six. In the final the USA got off to a ropey start, as their three riders struggled to find their formation, while GB were as slick and precise as they have been throughout the competition, Laura Trott, Dani King and Joanna Rowsell forming a compact, well-drilled unit. The result was never in doubt, and neither, it seemed, was the world record, which fell again, this time to 3.14.051.

Trott was the powerhouse, the pocket dynamo, of the trio, taking long turns on the front, up to two laps at a time. Towards the end of the 3km race they had the USA in their sights on the straights, and it even seemed that a ‘catch‘ could be on the cards. That didn’t happen, but it didn’t stop the crowd roaring them all the way to the finish. It might not be over for Trott, who has the chance to become one of the stars of these Games. On Monday the diminutive 20-year old from Essex – the youngest female gold medallist in the velodrome – will start the women’s omnium, which is run over two days, and few would bet against her adding a second gold in a discipline in which she is the reigning world champion.

The velodrome, which has won plaudits for its sleek design, and which, from the outside, resembles either a Pringle or a spaceship, is becoming a gold medal factory for Britain’s cyclists. Nobody really believed the Beijing total of seven golds on the track could be equalled, and certainly nobody imagined that it could be bettered, but, three days into the six-day programme, anything seems possible.

So far the statistics read four gold medals from a possible five. It could maybe have been five, had Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish not been disqualified from Thursday’s women’s team sprint for a technical infringement. That’s not clear: China, who were also eventually relegated for the same infringement, looked quick.

But with Sir Chris Hoy anchoring the men’s team sprint to gold, Pendleton bouncing back on day two to win the women’s keirin, and the men breaking their own world record in Friday’s mesmerising team pursuit final against Australia, they look every bit as formidable as they did four years ago.

Jason Kenny, who already has a gold medal from the team sprint, qualified fastest in the sprint yesterday and he looks to be cruising towards an expected final meeting with the Frenchman Grégory Baugé on Monday. Ed Clancy, who was part of the team pursuit squad, also started strongly in the omnium and is in contention for a medal, with the final three events to come today.