Tokyo 2020: Wiggins says Ethan Hayter and Matt Walls underestimated themselves winning silver in the men's madison

Eurosport's Bradley Wiggins said Ethan Hayter and Matt Walls have "got the power to match the best in the world" after they won a silver medal in the men's madison at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, which is GB's first medal in the men's event.

The British duo gave the final sprint their all in the closing stages of the race to upgrade their position in third place to a silver medal, but the Danes had got away with 20 laps to go to cement their points tally to claim the gold.

"I can't help but think they could have won the thing," Wiggins told Eurosport. "They had the legs of the Danish team who were on the rack by the end of that stage but it's difficult to play out. You saw the Belgians, they really tried to come past for a lap at the end and got so close. Roger Kluge [of Germany] ended up on the floor shredded to bits, he's fresh off the Tour de France.

"That was a stacked field of riders there and our boys have ridden with the best and come away with a silver medal. Great news for three years time because these boys, with his gold already -- Matt Walls -- in the omnium event, and now a silver with Ethan Hayter winning his first medal after the disappointment of the team pursuit, these boys are the future of British cycling, it's really good to see. Especially for the madison race."

Wiggins added: "They really have got the power to match the best in the world."

Team GB's silver medal is the first time GB have podiumed in the men's event, after the event was off the schedule for London 2012 and Rio 2016. Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald won gold in the women's 30km event on Friday.

In the first half of the race Hayter, 22, and Walls, 23, were leading, one point ahead but the Danes pulled it back by the 100 lap point. Wiggins said the GB pair underestimated just how good they were in the race: "The way they rode in the last 20 laps they ignited the pace at the front to chase the sprint because the last sprint was double points, and they actually rode the Danish pair off the wheel and they were putting distance into the Danish pair.

"Now you sort of think well if they had have done that a little bit earlier -- but I think they underestimated just how good they were in that race. It's always difficult, these guys are up against a quality, stacked field, and it's always difficult to back yourself sometimes particularly when you're going up against someone like Michael Morkov who has just come from the Tour de France.

"These kids, they've come in -- and they are kids, they are only first year professionals -- obviously Ethan is riding with the powerful Team Ineos squad and Matt is riding with Bora-Hansgrohe, they idolise these people and look up to them and watch them on the TV, sometimes you have to just really stick your neck out and give it a go."

Hayter and Walls said they had struggled in the middle part of the race and recovered by sitting back on the wheels of other riders to plug the gaps, before attacking again in the final few laps.

Wiggins said: "They were mounting points right from the start -- every 10 laps they were notching up points on the board. And they just had a bit of a lull mid-race which lots of teams do and it was in that lull that the other teams Spain, Germany, France, launched their attacks and it's very difficult in that time, they have to communicate with each other when you do the change to see how each other is feeling.

"They obviously communicate very well because they played it well, they recovered and sat back in the peloton. It's a very risky thing to do because you expose yourself to attacks going off the front. They communicated well, they rode well and it's their first big Olympic games in a madison... and they have come away with a silver medal having been so close and everyone is so proud of them, they rode really well and I think it will sink in a few days just how well they have done."

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