By Martyn Herman
SAINT QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France (Reuters) – British women beat New Zealand to win the Olympic track cycling team sprint gold in their third world-record race at the National Velodrome on Monday.

Experienced Katy Marchant and Games debutants Sophie Capewell and Emma Finucane dominated the competition, ensuring Britain’s track cycling programme got off to a flying start.

“Katy did the first lap, Sophie helped me with the last lap and I literally gave 120 per cent,” Finucane, 21, the niece of Battle of Britain Spitfire pilot Paddy Finucane, told reporters.

“I really saw red. I think that’s what it takes to win and break world records, you have to go deeper into your body than you’ve ever gone before. And I found that and we all did it and we did it that day under a lot of pressure.”

Marchant, 31, who won individual bronze in Rio 2016, had waited a long time to celebrate her gold medal with her two-year-old son Arthur.

Capewell, 25, shed tears to remember her father, Paralympic cyclist Nigel, who died in 2021.

“I had my own personal struggles and I wish my dad could have been in the stands watching me but I know he was proud of me,” he said. “The whole day just felt unreal, we just went through every drive and it was like ‘oh faster, oh faster again’.”

Having not qualified for the Olympics in the women’s team sprint since 2012, Britain arrived with high expectations and did not disappoint in the final, clocking 45.186 seconds.

New Zealand trio Rebecca Petch, Shaane Fulton and Ellesse Andrews came in first with a time of 45.659, while world champions Germany beat the Netherlands to win the bronze medal.

Britain has been a powerhouse on the track since the Beijing Olympics but the women’s sprint disciplines have not been a happy hunting ground. All that changed on Monday.

Inside a scorching velodrome, they immediately turned up the heat to break China’s world record in the qualifying heats. Incredibly, Germany’s Pauline Grabosch, Emma Hinze and Lea Friedrich lowered the bar again in their first heat, before New Zealand went even faster.

Britain then prepared for a three-round clash with New Zealand, having beaten Canada in their home series. They were marginally behind but Finucane secured the gold by flying in the final round.

Dutch sprint king Harrie Lavreysen began his quest for three gold medals after his team broke his own Olympic record in the men’s team sprint heats, leaving Britain the second fastest nation.

Australia also came first in the men’s 4km team pursuit race, with Britain second and Denmark third.

Olympic champions Italy, led by Filippo Ganna, will need to improve after only achieving the fourth fastest time.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Clare Fallon and Ed Osmond)

Disclaimer: This report is auto-generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint is not responsible for its content.