SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — Olympic champions Britain lost to New Zealand in the men’s team pursuit final at the track cycling world championships on Thursday.
The all-black clad Kiwi squad of Pieter Bulling, Dylan Kennett, Alex Frame and Marc Ryan took gold in track cycling’s marquee event, topping the British foursome with a time of 3:54.088.
Defending champs Australia took bronze.
It was sweet redemption for the New Zealand team after their relegation to silver in the men’s team sprint final against France on Wednesday, when officials ruled their first relay had been a fraction of a second too early.
In the women’s team pursuit final, Australia’s Ashlee Ankudinoff, Amy Cure, Annette Edmondson and Melissa Hoskins set a new world record time of 4:13.615, smashing the previous mark by nearly three seconds to capture gold over defending champions Britain. Canada took the bronze.
France’s Francois Pervis successfully defended his gold medal in the men’s keirin race, over Eddie Dawkins of New Zealand. Azizulhasni Awang of Malaysia took bronze. The win was Pervis’ first step in his bid to defend the three gold medals he won at the 2014 world championships. It was France’s second gold of these world championships after the men’s team sprint win on Wednesday.
Russia’s Anastasia Voynova beat world record holder Anna Meares of Australia in the women’s 500 metre time trial. Defending champ Miriam Welte of German took bronze.
Germany’s Lucas Liss won gold in the men’s scratch race, over Spain’s Albert Torres and Bobby Lea of the United States.