The new look Women’s Team Pursuit event – extended to four riders over 4km, up from three riders and 3km, to match the men’s event – has proven a success for GB as the squad of Laura Trott, Dani King, Joanna Rowsell and Elinor Barker broke their own record in qualifying and then lowered their time again to win Gold in the final at the Track World Cup in Manchester. They beat Canada in a time of 4min, 19.604 seconds.
An exuberant Rowsell, already a winner of the three-women iteration at the London Games, told BBC Sport: ‘Over the next three years you’ll see that record get lower and lower… We all live and die for the team pursuit. It’s great to be back here, racing for a home crowd, and it’s exciting to go out and break world records again.’
The women’s success followed Gold from the Men’s Team Pursuit on the opening night in Manchester, which saw European champions Ed Clancy, Andy Tennant, Steven Burke and Owain Doull, beat bitter rivals Australia by the narrowest of margins; a mere 0.639 seconds.
