Cycling news - Katie Archibald powers GB to team pursuit gold

Laura Kenny had sat out the second race of the competition but she came back into the team at the expense of Elinor Barker as they refused to underestimate Germany.

The Brits had qualified quickest by more than two-and-a-half seconds but were given a reminder in the first round when the Germans went a second faster to reach the final.

It was a half-second advantage inside the first of the four kilometres but Germany were expected to finish strong.

However, Katie Archibald took over at the front with 1250 metres to go and she put the hammer down, extending the gap from 1.5 seconds to 2.8 seconds in just over two laps.

Team GB have been the dominant force in team pursuit in Europe - for Kenny, this was the seventh time she had been part of a winning team and all five of those picking up gold this year did the same a year ago in Glasgow.

Their male counterparts were disappointed not to be racing for gold immediately after them, but produced an effective ride to beat the team from Switzerland.

Charlie Tanfield was the star of the show with some enormous turns but having been beaten by Italy in the heats, it felt like a consolation prize when they picked up bronze for the third time in four years.