:00:22. > :00:29.Thank you very much for joining us here in Rio, Sir Chris Hoy and
:00:30. > :00:33.myself here in the velodrome. It is men's team pursuit qualifying at the
:00:34. > :00:36.moment, so Sir Bradley Wiggins on the rest of the team coming up
:00:37. > :00:42.shortly, but the Dutch rider had a nasty smash here. We were discussing
:00:43. > :00:45.this earlier on about the risks in team pursuit, just caught the wheel,
:00:46. > :00:51.and you see how easily it can go wrong. You try to ride within
:00:52. > :00:54.millimetres of the ride in front of you, and he went to close, but they
:00:55. > :00:58.had only dropped one rider, so he can only afford to lose one rider
:00:59. > :01:04.from the quartet, and sadly, that is their Olympics over for the team
:01:05. > :01:09.pursuit. Vandenberg was the rider, and if you hit this would and you
:01:10. > :01:15.hit it hard, you are going to break things, it hurts. You can see how
:01:16. > :01:21.hard he went down there, it was a real impact. Sometimes if you fall
:01:22. > :01:26.onto the track it isn't too bad, but that could well be a collarbone. And
:01:27. > :01:31.you can see the skin he is leaving behind on the track, it is not a
:01:32. > :01:35.pleasant thing. You can see his left hand side, he will have lost a lot
:01:36. > :01:42.of skin. And the bike during the course of that crash has caused a
:01:43. > :01:47.scar on the track, and a very deep groove. That has to be repaired,
:01:48. > :01:52.because any other cyclist's wheel would be thrown off course by it.
:01:53. > :01:56.They seem to be doing it with masking tape, I am concerned about
:01:57. > :02:02.this! Ideally they would put Villa in an sand it down, but there isn't
:02:03. > :02:10.enough time. If another rider happened to crash and slide, and the
:02:11. > :02:16.floor isn't level, you can pick up a splinter, and a rider like Jason
:02:17. > :02:21.Queally back in 1996, people have picked up splinters that were more
:02:22. > :02:28.like stakes of would essentially, one went right through one rider's
:02:29. > :02:31.leg, you can see that on you Tube if you fancy watching it. I would
:02:32. > :02:37.advise anyone watching not to look it up, it is disgusting! And Jason
:02:38. > :02:40.got one through his back, he was in intensive care for a week. The slats
:02:41. > :02:45.are smooth and evenly matched for a reason, so that if you do happen to
:02:46. > :02:49.crash, you get bad burns, but you don't want to pick up a whole
:02:50. > :02:53.section of would. But that is not a section of the track you would be
:02:54. > :02:57.intending to ride on. Trying to go your fastest, you would be down on
:02:58. > :03:00.the black line, but this is in case somebody else crashes, so that
:03:01. > :03:12.shouldn't affect anyone actually racing. Chris, we have the British
:03:13. > :03:17.team coming up, and Ed Clancy, Owain Doull, Steven Burke and Bradley
:03:18. > :03:22.Wiggins. For Bradley Wiggins, a big decision for him to come back to the
:03:23. > :03:26.track, he had gone to the road, won the Tour de France on the time
:03:27. > :03:33.trial, set the hour record earlier on the track. But it is a big thing
:03:34. > :03:37.he has got on his plate here. It is a huge challenge, but I think he is
:03:38. > :03:41.relishing being back with the team again, and there are very few
:03:42. > :03:45.variables now. He just focuses on the job he has to do, he has full
:03:46. > :03:52.confidence in his team-mates, the focus they put on this job is
:03:53. > :03:57.astounding. They will be ready, and he is very relaxed and focused. Here
:03:58. > :04:01.we go with the Swiss team, the men's team pursuit qualifying, the Brits
:04:02. > :04:03.will be coming up, they go eight, the Swiss team is forth to ride.
:04:04. > :04:24.Here is Simon Brotherton. The race resumes, with the Swiss
:04:25. > :04:27.team on the track. While Clare and Chris were talking, they were
:04:28. > :04:33.rolling up tissue paper to shove into the gap, and then covering it
:04:34. > :04:37.with gaffer tape. It should be OK Vitor night, because the disciplines
:04:38. > :04:44.we have, you can see the riding around the bottom of the track, and
:04:45. > :04:47.you can see them in the home straight, they should be OK.
:04:48. > :04:51.Switzerland are the fourth team to ride. We have seen Italy, China and
:04:52. > :04:57.the Netherlands so far, and the Dutch failing to post a time. Not
:04:58. > :05:00.ending well for the Netherlands at all, although they wouldn't have
:05:01. > :05:03.been at the top end of the leaderboard come the end of the
:05:04. > :05:09.qualifying, whatever happened. A little reminder of the scenario. You
:05:10. > :05:13.need to post a quick time straight out of the blocks here in this
:05:14. > :05:18.qualifying ride, because it is only the fastest four teams from this
:05:19. > :05:24.qualifying who have a chance of going for the medals. It is a very
:05:25. > :05:27.curious system, but when you think about it, eight teams will go on to
:05:28. > :05:34.compete again, we'll get another ride, but the top four will actually
:05:35. > :05:39.go on to ride for the medals, and that is the important thing. So
:05:40. > :05:42.first will race against fourth, second against third, and the
:05:43. > :05:48.winners of those two will go for gold, and so on. So every ride is
:05:49. > :05:52.important here. They fiddled with the format so many times over the
:05:53. > :05:56.years. The Olympics is different to the World Championships, there is an
:05:57. > :06:00.extra ride, which is why a lot of countries choose to use five instead
:06:01. > :06:06.of four, and they swap out a rider between the different rounds. Great
:06:07. > :06:10.Britain have not quite forgone that option, they have Mark Cavendish who
:06:11. > :06:13.they can use, but they are so confident in the four strong riders
:06:14. > :06:25.they have coming up soon that they decided to try to go through the
:06:26. > :06:29.competition with them. Dillier upfront for the Swiss team right
:06:30. > :06:33.now. They have been well up on the first time set by the Italians, then
:06:34. > :06:37.almost back on terms now, and you can see big holes starting to form
:06:38. > :06:40.in the team, so I think they are going to be well outside, despite
:06:41. > :06:44.the short distance that they have still got to go. They come up
:06:45. > :06:48.towards the line, they still have five laps and they are going to go
:06:49. > :06:53.down to three riders any moment, I think. That is the worst thing you
:06:54. > :06:57.could do, actually, to get onto the back and then go through and do the
:06:58. > :07:03.turn. It is OK to sit on the back, but if you go through now you will
:07:04. > :07:08.slow the team considerably. Bia relies is he hasn't got the strength
:07:09. > :07:15.to stay with it, so they are down to three, inside the final kilometre of
:07:16. > :07:25.this ride. -- Beer. Powering away on the front, Cyril Thiery. Joost Van
:07:26. > :07:42.Der Beer peeled off them, but I don't
:07:43. > :07:47.think he realised that Schir was in trouble. That is a welcome sign for
:07:48. > :07:55.the Swiss riders as peeling off the front is Delia. Schir will give
:07:56. > :08:00.everything he has left in the tank on this last lap, he is doing his
:08:01. > :08:03.best. They are riding on fumes now, they did everything they could, but
:08:04. > :08:08.playing a part in that last kilometre, they lost four seconds. A
:08:09. > :08:13.promising ride that sort of crumbled and fell away a bit for Switzerland.
:08:14. > :08:18.I am quite surprised even amongst the early riders, I thought we would
:08:19. > :08:25.see some faster times, Italy's 3.59 is a solid ride, but I was expecting
:08:26. > :08:29.most of these teams to be thereabouts. I think it starts to
:08:30. > :08:35.get interesting as of now, because Denmark are next on the track. They
:08:36. > :08:39.have always put out a good team pursuit side in recent years, then
:08:40. > :08:46.it is New Zealand and Germany, Great Britain and Australia. Australia are
:08:47. > :08:52.the last team, the ninth team, the current champions. Anything under
:08:53. > :08:55.400 metres, the qualifying round is done alone so you don't get
:08:56. > :09:01.interference between teams, so that qualifying time is posted, and then
:09:02. > :09:05.the pursuit competition starts. It is called pursuit because if you
:09:06. > :09:11.catch the other team, the races won. Certainly that is the case in the
:09:12. > :09:17.final. There is the qualifying scoreboard so far, Italy leading the
:09:18. > :09:20.way. If you want to stand a chance of winning a medal in this, you need
:09:21. > :09:29.to be among the four fastest qualifiers in this ride. . There are
:09:30. > :09:33.some very specialised skin suits there, you can see the different
:09:34. > :09:34.texture on the outside of the arm, so aerodynamic really being thought
:09:35. > :09:48.through by all the teams. Denmark's ride is under way. They
:09:49. > :09:55.were bronze medallist in the World Championships this year, as Nicholas
:09:56. > :10:00.Larsson leads the night of the starters blocks. Bronze medallist in
:10:01. > :10:04.the World Championships, silver two years ago as well as a bronze this
:10:05. > :10:07.year, so they are never far away from the podium, and often on it.
:10:08. > :10:13.Larsson also going from long-term. He got his timing a little bit wrong
:10:14. > :10:19.out of the gates before he hands over, and the pace is picked up,
:10:20. > :10:26.very good riders that we have on the track here. They are not .4 seconds
:10:27. > :10:30.ahead of the time set by the Italians now. That was Frederik
:10:31. > :10:34.Madsen, the second rider. These riders also ride on the roads as
:10:35. > :10:42.well is on the track. The third rider to take his turn on the front
:10:43. > :10:47.is Lassie Hanson. The gold medallist in London four years ago. A short
:10:48. > :10:53.turn by him, so already they have a good feel from training for the
:10:54. > :11:01.different abilities within the team. Von Folsach peels off, looking back
:11:02. > :11:04.towards Hanson. Von Folsach was part of their team four years ago in
:11:05. > :11:12.Neolithic games, and he has won medals in three World Championships
:11:13. > :11:15.in the last four years. A slight error in the change there, not too
:11:16. > :11:19.bad, came out a little late and had to close up a wheel, an error he
:11:20. > :11:23.will pay for later on, but it is because of the pace. No surprise
:11:24. > :11:27.that they are going faster than any of the teams that have gone before
:11:28. > :11:29.them so far. Italy the quickest up to now, but I think that time will
:11:30. > :11:44.start to tumbledown. So, still looking good here for
:11:45. > :11:56.Denmark, three and a half seconds to the good as they reached the halfway
:11:57. > :12:01.mark, 2:03.238. Riding on the front, Nicholas Larsson just 19 years of
:12:02. > :12:12.age, silver medallist in the Junior Championships last year. Larsen
:12:13. > :12:18.handing over, Frederik Madsen, this is a predominantly young squad, they
:12:19. > :12:24.are 18, 19, 24 and von Folsach the senior member of the team. They are
:12:25. > :12:28.down to three now. They have been working really hard, they might be
:12:29. > :12:34.paying for this later on. Haven't got too far to go, and that is a
:12:35. > :12:40.result of the pace they are setting. We are down to three at the end here
:12:41. > :12:53.for Denmark now. They go into the closing stages of this race.
:12:54. > :12:59.Rider down, the quorum of three, the time will be taken on the third
:13:00. > :13:10.rider to cross the line. Lassie Hanson now comes to the front.
:13:11. > :13:18.They have just got two laps to go now, and it is a much longer turn
:13:19. > :13:26.here, Hanson powering down the back straight. As they take the bell,
:13:27. > :13:32.this is going to be the fastest time so far by quite a big margin here.
:13:33. > :13:39.Over four seconds quicker than anybody else has gone so far. We
:13:40. > :13:47.knew Denmark would be decent, and that has certainly been the case
:13:48. > :13:49.here in this qualifying ride, 3:55.396, a new fastest time set by
:13:50. > :13:57.Denmark. So, Denmark setting the new
:13:58. > :14:18.benchmark. We will just see some replays of
:14:19. > :14:22.that start. They rode hard and didn't quite measure it right, I
:14:23. > :14:25.don't think, towards the end. They could even have gotten more than
:14:26. > :14:31.that out, but that is the kind of time we will be looking for this
:14:32. > :14:37.evening, it has been slow so far, but 3.55 is a quality ride by them.
:14:38. > :14:38.If they could tidy up those mistakes, they have got even more to
:14:39. > :14:50.come. So, Denmark leading the way, as it
:14:51. > :14:58.stands. And now, next up onto the track will be New Zealand. Pieter
:14:59. > :15:05.Bulling, Aaron Gate, Dylan Kennett and Regan Gough, the world champions
:15:06. > :15:10.from a year ago. They won the world title in Paris, Olympic bronze
:15:11. > :15:15.medallists in London. And Aaron Gate, former world on the champion
:15:16. > :15:18.three years back. He rode in 2012, and Pieter Bulling as well, part of
:15:19. > :15:25.that World Championship winning quartet. As was Dylan Kennett who
:15:26. > :15:29.rides on the road as well. And Regan Gough, a double world junior
:15:30. > :15:32.champion, just a couple of years ago in the Madison and in the points
:15:33. > :15:38.race as well, so it will be interesting to see how New Zealand
:15:39. > :15:41.fair. Very strange bikes, they have got extra support is running up from
:15:42. > :15:46.the forks to give stiffness, possibly some aerodynamic gain. So
:15:47. > :15:50.everybody thinking about aerodynamics now. It has taken a
:15:51. > :15:53.long time to catch up with the Great Britain team, but they are all
:15:54. > :15:58.taking it seriously now, technology plays a big part in pushing air out
:15:59. > :16:05.of the way being your biggest problem.
:16:06. > :16:17.The New Zealand team are looking very tidy here.
:16:18. > :16:26.Just over three tenths of a second outside the fastest time up to now.
:16:27. > :16:34.Still very much in touch. The Danes struggled towards the end a bit. So
:16:35. > :16:40.technique will play its part later. Four minutes is a long time when you
:16:41. > :16:44.are out there. New Zealand are losing ground at the moment. A
:16:45. > :16:58.little bit surprising. Regan Gough peeling off the front.
:16:59. > :17:12.Leading the way, Aaron Gate at the moment, 25 years of age. Now the
:17:13. > :17:19.running is taken up by Dylan Kennett, the 21-year-old, young but
:17:20. > :17:26.with the experience of being a world champion at this event already. As
:17:27. > :17:34.we move up the rankings, less mistakes are being made. The changes
:17:35. > :17:38.are consistently strong. They are a good unit. We will expect a decent
:17:39. > :17:43.ride from them here, but will it be good enough to get them into the top
:17:44. > :17:47.four and in contention for the medals? As we have seen with the
:17:48. > :17:53.women earlier, technique is one thing, but you have to have the
:17:54. > :17:58.power to go with it. Right now, New Zealand are losing ground to
:17:59. > :18:01.Denmark. Regan Gough is fighting hard on the front. They still have
:18:02. > :18:06.the quartet together, but they need to find more speed. They still have
:18:07. > :18:35.six laps to go. Trying to make up ground is Aaron
:18:36. > :18:52.Gate. They come round to the 3000 metre mark. Four laps to go.
:18:53. > :18:59.New Zealand now have Dylan Kennett at the front. The crowd are getting
:19:00. > :19:06.into this. They had been quiet in the early races. Working hard as
:19:07. > :19:15.they crossed the line, the three of them now, with two laps to go. A
:19:16. > :19:29.much shorter term from Pieter Bulling as they take the bell.
:19:30. > :19:42.And up towards the line come New Zealand. They are the second
:19:43. > :19:49.quickest so far. CLARE BALDING: and we will soon see
:19:50. > :19:54.Germany on the track, followed by Great Britain. There is nothing to
:19:55. > :20:01.glamorous about this, probably not even a kettle! Not even a coffee
:20:02. > :20:08.machine for them here. You can see Callum Skinner with the shirt off.
:20:09. > :20:11.He is wearing what we call hot pants. There is a heated element
:20:12. > :20:18.within those trousers, and the riders put them on between rides and
:20:19. > :20:21.leverage the body cool down, but keep their main muscle groups and
:20:22. > :20:25.warm at the optimum temperature, and take them off when they get to the
:20:26. > :20:31.track. Sitting down in the foreground, we have the team pursuit
:20:32. > :20:35.group of Ed Clancy and Bradley Wiggins, listening to music and
:20:36. > :20:41.having a chat. It is badly on the left. He will be listening to heavy
:20:42. > :20:49.rock. It will be the Jam, a bit of Paul Weller. They will all be trying
:20:50. > :20:55.to get themselves mentally in that place where they can do the job they
:20:56. > :21:00.have got to do. They are a quartet but they have individual jobs. Ed is
:21:01. > :21:05.the start man. He has a big task to accelerate the pace. That takes a
:21:06. > :21:12.lot out of him. But they look pretty relaxed. Whisper it between the two
:21:13. > :21:20.of us, but in theory, they could do a 3.49, which would be amazing. I
:21:21. > :21:24.love your assumption that I am the only one listening to everything you
:21:25. > :21:31.are saying! Let's go with Germany now. Great Britain, after them. We
:21:32. > :21:33.rejoin Chris Boardman and Simon Brotherton.
:21:34. > :21:43.COMMENTATOR: We are ready now for the German team. Weinstein was the
:21:44. > :21:47.silver medallist in the German championship this year in the
:21:48. > :21:50.individual pursuit, one of the traditional blue ribbon braces, but
:21:51. > :21:58.no longer part of the Olympic programme. No, the total number of
:21:59. > :22:01.medals for each sport is strictly controlled, and when we introduced
:22:02. > :22:06.other events to get parity with the women, which is a good thing, we had
:22:07. > :22:11.to lose some as well. So we have seen a lot of change in the last 12
:22:12. > :22:15.years of events. It seems to have stabilised now, though. We are just
:22:16. > :22:20.a few minutes away from Great Britain's ride. I can see Sir
:22:21. > :22:29.Bradley Wiggins making final preparations in the British team
:22:30. > :22:36.then. Schomber hands over. The German riders are looking good. Not
:22:37. > :22:48.the fastest, though. The fastest was set by Denmark. The Germans will not
:22:49. > :22:52.be happy with this. Maybe the track is not running fast. Domenic
:22:53. > :23:01.Weinstein is at the front, the 21-year-old. These German riders
:23:02. > :23:11.race on the road as well. Trying to put some of those road miles to good
:23:12. > :23:16.effect on the track. It is a young team, 21, 22, 23, apart from Bommel,
:23:17. > :23:21.who is a decade older, the experienced hand. These are the kind
:23:22. > :23:26.of times we have been seeing at the World Championships, but we were
:23:27. > :23:38.expecting that everybody would have pushed forward for this one. That
:23:39. > :23:43.was a long term from Schomber. Germany are not in the hunt here.
:23:44. > :23:47.They will not be a factor in the men's team pursuit. It is the
:23:48. > :23:49.fastest four who are still in the running for the medals in the next
:23:50. > :23:59.round. Not the best of starts for the
:24:00. > :24:23.German team pursuit here. Six and a half laps to go. They are
:24:24. > :24:33.miles off the pace set by the Danes. Plus the first signs of fatigue that
:24:34. > :24:42.we have seen with this four. Bommel peeling off the front. They look
:24:43. > :24:50.neat and tidy on the track, it is just the pace that is the problem.
:24:51. > :25:02.It is subtle stuff, but you pick it up in the body language. A slightly
:25:03. > :25:15.sloppy change. That will cost a lot of energy at these speeds. Great
:25:16. > :25:26.Britain are on the track next. As you say, they look the part.
:25:27. > :25:38.Weinstein riding at the front. The terms are getting shorter now. This
:25:39. > :25:44.is when it really starts to hurt. I think three will finish more or less
:25:45. > :25:56.together, but they will be well outside the sort of time required.
:25:57. > :26:07.They will be disappointed with that. Great Britain are coming up onto the
:26:08. > :26:20.track as the Germans wind down, slowly circling the track. These are
:26:21. > :26:26.the highlights of their ride. You can see the on-board camera. The
:26:27. > :26:30.teams are obliged to use these. They work so habanero dynamics, and then
:26:31. > :26:33.the organisation insist that one of the riders must carry one of these
:26:34. > :26:44.-- they work so hard on aerodynamics. Most riders choose to
:26:45. > :26:49.put them down the back, where it is already messy. Plenty of British
:26:50. > :27:07.supporters here in Rio, and the Union Jacks are out for this one.
:27:08. > :27:16.Ed Clancy is one of the best starters in the world, back from
:27:17. > :27:28.injury. And Steven Burke is one of the best man twos in the world. Can
:27:29. > :27:35.be carry that form from training from Newport down to Rio? And can
:27:36. > :27:41.they set a time that will give them an opportunity to go for a medal?
:27:42. > :27:48.Olympic champions in 2008 and in 2012. Ed Clancy leave them off. He
:27:49. > :27:54.was an integral part of both of those gold medal winning teams. The
:27:55. > :28:06.rider second in line is Steven Burke. He rode four years ago. And
:28:07. > :28:13.behind him, Eoin -- Owain Doull. And Bradley Wiggins, bringing up the
:28:14. > :28:28.river but slowly moving forward. He is picking up the pace.
:28:29. > :28:38.They have been shown by the courage that they are up on schedule. They
:28:39. > :28:44.are half a second quicker than the fastest so far. It will be
:28:45. > :28:49.interesting to see their strategy. Are they looking at the time is
:28:50. > :28:53.doing enough to qualify, or are they going to want to break the world
:28:54. > :28:57.record? I would be surprised if it is not the latter. Not quite on
:28:58. > :29:01.world record pace at the moment. Bradley Wiggins riding at the front,
:29:02. > :29:07.that distinctive style of his we have seen so often over the years.
:29:08. > :29:13.No sign of slowing down, even at the age of 36. Has he got one last
:29:14. > :29:20.Olympic gold medal left in him? They are slightly off schedule at the
:29:21. > :29:24.moment. You can see the effort, even for a rider of his calibre just to
:29:25. > :29:34.ride on the wheels, never mind on the front. Ed Clancy peels off the
:29:35. > :29:41.front. Just taking things, so long as they don't die off towards the
:29:42. > :29:49.end, which every team has done, they are at world-record pace. Are we
:29:50. > :29:52.about to see another stunning ride from Great Britain here? They are
:29:53. > :30:00.slowly increasing their advantage overall the other teams, with six
:30:01. > :30:04.laps to go. This is where it starts to tell, the strength and depth.
:30:05. > :30:09.This is where all that training and technical ability comes to fruition.
:30:10. > :30:12.They are bang on schedule. They would not tell me earlier, but I am
:30:13. > :30:20.guessing they have set their own best mark. The time to beat keeps
:30:21. > :30:31.popping up on the left side of the screen. It is their own world record
:30:32. > :30:39.Thomas set in London in 2012 -- their own world record time. Bradley
:30:40. > :30:45.Wiggins grits his teeth. It almost looks like they are accelerating,
:30:46. > :30:53.concertina-ing a bit behind. Wiggins gets out of the way. Wiggins drops
:30:54. > :30:59.off. Ed Clancy, with Steven Burke and Owain Doull behind him. These
:31:00. > :31:02.three have to be home for Britain. They have to stay upright and
:31:03. > :31:08.produced the time it looks as though they might be capable of. 250 metres
:31:09. > :31:13.to go, the last lap into the back straight. Ed Clancy, Burke and Doull
:31:14. > :31:22.for Great Britain. Looking to be used a time that will get them in
:31:23. > :31:25.with a chance of a medal. Just outside world-record pace, but that
:31:26. > :31:35.was a superb ride from Great Britain. Britain topped the
:31:36. > :31:39.leaderboard. CLARE BALDING: the fastest
:31:40. > :31:45.qualifiers, with just Australia to come. We will be reflecting on that
:31:46. > :31:48.ride from the British team and on the teamwork between them with Sir
:31:49. > :31:53.Chris Hoy. But we will be doing that on BBC One. We leave you here now on
:31:54. > :32:00.BBC Two. Join us again in a moment.