The four-man pursuit squad of Ed Clancy, Paul Manning, Geraint Thomas and individual pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins won Great Britain its fifth gold medal of the 2008 Olympics. Team Great Britain nearly lapped Denmark in the finals of the team pursuit, breaking their own world record from Sunday’s qualifying round with a 3:53.314 finishing time.

The Brits led wire-to-wire against Denmark, which eased up on the throttle once the Brits came nipping at their heels on the final lap. The Danes finished with a time of 4:00.040. New Zealand took home the bronze with a 3:57.776.

The win one-upped Britain’s silver-medal performance at the 2004 Olympics, when it was handily beaten by Australia. The Australians finished a disappointing fourth in Beijing.

Men in black: The Kiwis defeated Australia's defending Olympic champions.

Photo: Graham Watson

“My first Olympics was [2000] Sydney, and we won a bronze there — and that was really a breakthrough for us,” said Manning, the team’s patriarch and eldest rider. “It showed we could win medals at major races. I’ve been racing [team pursuit] for 10 years. A lot of bike riding and failure went into this [win].”

Manning and Wiggins are holdovers from the 2004 squad. Manning said the new additions, Clancy and Thomas, brought stronger legs and “new blood” into the squad, which proved to be a recipe for success.

“[Clancy and Thomas] sacrificed riding the individual pursuit this year so we could ride as a team,” Manning said. “They are both super talents.”

Wiggins, who took his second gold medal in three nights, said he was feeling the affects of racing four nights in a row. The Brit faces another night of competition tomorrow, as he and compatriot Mark Cavendish will go for the gold in the men’s Madison.

“Yesterday was really tough,” Wiggins said. “But we trained to the demands of the event and put in a lot of work to cope with this.”

The Brits’ victory ended a 100-year drought in the team pursuit event. The British won the 1908 team pursuit when the Olympics were held in London.

Hoy advances to the final, giving Britain yet another shot at gold.

Photo: Graham Watson

Race Notes
● Monday saw the sprint competition continue as riders competed in the semi finals. Brits Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny advanced to the finals, along with Mickael Bourgain of France and Maximilian Levy of Germany. Theo Bos of the Netherlands, the silver medalist in 2004, saw his night end early after being beaten twice in the best-of-three competition by Bourgain.
● In the women’s sprint, Brit Victoria Pendleton advanced to the finals, as did Guo Shuang of China, Willy Kanis of the Netherlands and reigning Olympic champ Anna Meares of Australia. American Jennie Reed saw her night end early after being beaten by Kanis in straight sets.