London - Day 1 Track Cycling World Cup

Welcome to the Olympic park in East London where in a few months the

Olympic Games will have started and that building will be alive to the

sound of British cyclists gunning for golden glory. What a high

benchmark they set themselves four years ago.

Chris Hoy takes gold! Victoria Pendleton is the Olympic

champion! But after that beautiful

breathtaking performance, it's fair to say the stars of the track in

China haven't had things all their Oh, look at that, Australia are the

champions. Now is the time for British athletes to put these

memories to bed. Welcome to the biggest event so far on the park,

live, track cycling from inside the Olympic Velodrome.

It looks beautiful from the outside, even better looking when you get in.

The only subject of conversation on the lips of the athletes today,

finally, 2012 has arrived. This is much more than just another cycling

meet. The next three nights are making sure they are in the perfect

place ahead of what will be happening here in five months' time.

Chris Boardman is here with me. Looking longingly at the track all

afternoon. I am looking forward to watching tonight, I am glad I'm not

doing it. Tonight's show is fast and furious. Before long, Sir Chris

Hoy is going to be swapping his bike for the track in the men's

team sprint. The women's team sprint is going to get us going

tonight. Victoria Pendleton will be cycling for gold. This roof is

going to lift as the girls aim to prove they are the perfect team.

You are dedicating your entire year to one lap of this track, a start

and a lap. When you put it like that, it soundsry Dick lus, my

whole life is revolving around doing one lap of a velodrome. But I

think that for me to be in the Olympic team in 2012, I had to do

that. I am really looking forward to it, it is the event I am most

excited about, I love working with Jess. It is so nice to be around

someone who is so enthusiastic and optimistic about the future. Her

career is going to be amazing. I have no doubts about that. Even if

there is a ten year age gap! Sometimes people say it is pressure,

it is pressure because I want to do as much - make people proud and be

as fast as I can for Vicky, but we are a team and we have to do it

together. Such tiny fractions of a second, make such a difference in

the team sprint. How do you train for that? You prepare for exactly

what you are going to do. Now I never do a hand held start, I start

from the gate. I have started to do a few starts next to the younger

boys coming up, they are faster than me so it is good to train

against boys who are going to push you on. It is important as it is

the first race on the track, it is a key opportunity to make the most

and learn as much as possible. is the only chance to learn before

the Olympics. They didn't look like they had to much to learn. One of

new British record. They go in the final shortly and take on the

Australians who set a new world record. That is what happens as far

as the Gold Medal is concerned, coming your way shortly but first

it is the fight for bronze. Znchtss We are looking at China here. In

the back straight, it's France. China's time is well shy of their

national record in qualification. The coach was not particularly

happy when I spoke to him after that ride. He said that they didn't

deliver. Let's see what they can offer here now. France have some

work to do. They didn't replicate their record either. On paper it

should go to China but you can never bet on it.

the Bronze Medal. China take it on the line, with 33.06. We said it

would be fast and furious. We have been on air for five minutes and

the first medal given away, congratulations China. They have

come on in the in the sprint events. They have worked very hard at this.

It's been a slow progression, but they've got there. Interesting four

years for a lot of them, because they took a look at the job Team GB

did and they said we are going to do what you are doing and it is

amazing to see how the standard has lifted. They focused on the

sprinter disciplines. It's nice to see them get some results. They are

cheering behind me, probably because Team GB girls have made

their way out to the track. Let's look at the Australians in their

round. They set a new world record. They are the team to beat. If we do

beat them, what a way to start 2012. It is going to be a difficult task

for them to achieve. But they are really close and I think they are

in a better position than we thought going into this. It is not

all over. They are on their bikes. There should be quite an atmosphere.

record this morning. The first world record to have been set here

in 2012. So Meares nearest to us, blazing her way down the track. She

was the quickest ever opening 250. Great Britain have just been

introduced, I can hardly hear me self speak. Jess Varnish nearest to

us, a face of concentration. This morning she achieved her ambition.

88.55, a lifetime best for her for the opening lap. Victoria Pendleton

polished it off with a quick second loop. These two teams are going to

slug it out for the gold and silver strait, let's, Australia at the

that. A the result goes to Great Britain! What a ride that is.

32.754, the World Champions are beaten. What a performance. I saw

Meares and Victoria Pendleton shaking hands, which is very nice

to see because they have slogged it out many times. That's a new world

record! By Great Britain! Sensational. Jess Varnish gave the

per perfect lead for Victoria Pendleton and she roared around the

board. Victoria at her best. She crossed the line to give Great

Britain a Gold Medal, what a performance. Over the moon with

that. I don't think the applause will die away for a long time.

Great Britain are the winners of the World Cup here at the London

velodrome! Australia welcome to the Olympic

year. It is like the World Championships. It was a perfect

ride. A bit of a surprise to them because they came into this as the

underdog. An awesome ride. Victoria Pendleton, the best union since

2008 and that showed it there. we were watching it, you saw them

going into the fib r final lap, she knew that, she was set up by

Varnish, another fantastic start. When you were on the track, we

heard from the girls beforehand saying what a great team they are,

the crowd cheering, if you were a rider, what would this do for you

five months away from the Olympics. You realise everything you worked

for is worth it. Now is the time, you don't need a wake-up call, you

need to know you are doing the right thing and that's what they

got tonight. Jess varnic knows concentrating on one lap of the

track and nothing else is the right thing for her to do. What happens

now is everybody heads off to Melbourne for the Worlds. I am sure

they would like to get one over after a ride like this. These

events are going to be so close to the Olympics and that's not going

to change, but it is nice to see us at the right side of the line.

a great young talent we have here. I was speaking to the team earlier

and they have been going forward. We saw the confidence and

aggression in her face and the timing, in two high pressure rides,

she's got it perfect twice. Huge smiles all around. Wonderful

to see you celebrating with your fans and families. Jess, you bur

yued your -- prepared yourself for this moment, how good did that

feel?. I need to pinch myself, it's like a dream. A national record

this morning to back it up and come through with a world record record

tonight, how hard was it? It was hard, I didn't think I was going to

have faster in the final, I was feeling tired after this morning.

We have been doing a lot of fitness work, so it's worked. What message

does this send out? We are a force to be reckoned with, we might be a

fairly new team but we have worked really hard, we have done more

training as a team than we have through our entire careers. Talking

to your coach, now now it's well well worth it. When they say do you

want to experiment, it is a risk you have to take, but now is the

time, we want to do it before the worlds and before the owe imp --

Olympics. The crowd are unbelievable. I was shaking, I was

thinking, that's the crowd. I was shaking on my bike. Similar

performance in a few months' time. Definitely. We are still in

training, we wanted to try a few things out tonight, really positive

for the Olympics. Thank you. The message is clear, keep on trying

things out because it works. They talked about the atmosphere there,

and it is not always easy to deal with the added pressure, there's so

much pressure on these cyclists but to deal with it like that, it says

a lot about them mentally. It is a packed house, they are not going to

get louder than that in the Olympic Games. For an event like that, the

crowd really helps. I think there is every reason to expect the same

reception when they get there in August. The flags are flying here

this evening. What a great start to our programme. There are more dress

rehearsals coming your way over the night for the sprinters. The women

have done their bit and now the message is clear. Men, it's over to

you. Let's hope Sir Chris Hoy can 2012 is here, we are in it now and

having a chance to race on a London track and compete in front of a

home crowd, it is that first sample of the Olympic experience. Since

Beijing all three events have been the focus. If I can get a bit of

success in the lead up to London, I am hoping that is going to be the

ideal preparation and I will repeat the same thing again in London.

You are up against the world champion for that one spot. There

is one position in those events, it is a shame because there are going

to be some riders who will miss out from all countries who are world

class riders, but it hasn't changed anything in terms of day-to-day,

you put everything into your training for a competition. You do

the best you can. It is a shame yourself or team-mate misses out.

How many medals will you defend in London? That is really down to the

next two races. If I can perform well this weekend and well at the

World Championships in Melbourne, I will be starting to ride in those

three events. You don't turn up to come second or third. Yourself

Jason Kenny, Ross Edgar, they have been working very hard to be the

best lead out man. You are up against a very, very strong,

Australians, Germans, how do you think you can do. I believe we can

do the best, but perhaps not this weekend. We are aiming to be the

best in August. I'm sure he can do Ross has been working hard since

You are looking at combinations and Ross has stepped up for me, it is a

big opportunity for him. Let's not judge these boys too soon. I think

we are in danger of people writing the team off here whereas in March

2008, half a second out, and looking at it on paper, we want to

do that again. Four years ago Chris we were hoping to play catch up

with the rest of the world. Do you get the sense we are in a similar

position, this is the qualification ride from last night, and the team

sprinters won't be going for gold. Ross Edgar has been a solid rider,

but today's team sprinters require 17.2 at least for a first lap and

that is the challenge they have been facing and that is what we saw

in the qualification ride. They have had four years to get the

situation sorted out. How do they solve a problem like Ross Edgar?

What What would you do? You have to use the troops you have got. They

are using them the best they can. They are going to have to put Jason

Kenny into man one spot, Chris Hoy into man three and Crampton between.

This is what is happening in the men's team sprint coming your way

There is another issue here, which is Kenny and Hoy and the question

mark over who is going to be the individual sprint at the Olympics.

If they made that decision now and told them, could they have a fiddle

with the team sprint and move things around there and make them

work better? You have two world class spribters capable of Olympic

gold medals, but if you said to one right now you are not going to have

that job, Jason man one, one lap of the track, that is your job for the

next few months, you would have to change the traininging and it would

have an impact on the result. Anne Payne has said what an awesome

race that was, well done girls. Everybody getting very excited on

twitter. Let's go live down to the track because we are going to have

a look at the medal ceremony for the girls. The men's team sprint,

how is it a problem for the starter, how is the training different for

that compared to the individual? is less about speed and more about

strength. Getting out to the starting gate, it is weight lifting.

You can see it in their shape and in the women riders, they are a

different shape, one is all power, one is about speed. It is a tough

decision to make as a manager, saying to somebody who is genuinely

right for a Gold Medal spot and both are so close, Kenny and Hoy,

who would you choose between them, someone needs to make a tough call.

It is either brilliant or brilliant. There is a danger, easy for us to

make these hard decisions on their be half, but there is a danger to

be a jack of all trades if you don't make that decision soon.

There is Chris having a chat with his fellow team. What kind of a

situation are these guys in now? Here we are riding for bronze, an

example of how much the rest of the world have raised their game.

France have the fire power, it's spread around. There is a lot of

talent there now, particularly in the team sprint event and in this

event, it is over so quickly, one tiny mistake and you are out of the

running. They are very much in it but they are not the favourites at

the moment. Now they are not going for gold, what are you looking for

from the men? They have to see this competition through and that is

what they will do, ride as hard as they can. There's no big changes

they can make in a few hours. Now they have to get through this, go

away and reassess. Would you expect Ross Edgar to remain man one after

this tournament? It is a big call for them. I don't think I would.

Ross is a great perform err, 17.7 is where he is at. You have to take

risks. If you want to win, if you are not going for gold, you need to

take risks. Interestingly, as much as they are on the same team, the

ladies have raised the bar tonight. That was top-notch performance

there. It was perfection. Perfection in

front of a partisan home crowd here. Let's enjoy the girls getting their

well-earned, well deserved Gold Medal. There they are, the

victorious pair of Victoria The team from China are collecting

They have been the World Champions for the last three years running,

but have been toppled here tonight, the Australians, McCulloch and

Meares. And then the glorious pair from

APPLAUSE The crowd absolutely loving this.

What a way to start the evening. A wave to the crowd, Jess Varnish

on the left, she's worked so hard in the gym. Moving more weight than

she's ever moved before and Victoria Pendleton, a wealth of

experience, brimming over there, she rode a sensational second lap.

Winners of the World Cup team sprint, Great Britain, Jess Varnish

and Victoria Pendleton in a new world record, 32.754 seconds. What

Victoria Pendleton will have on her mind the fact that Meares beat her

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds

last year in the World APPLAUSE

Znchtss That is the first of many times we are going to hear that

National Anthem over the World Cup competition here, which completes

on Sunday. Top spot for the victorious pair of Victoria

Pendleton and Jess Varnish. What a start this evening, what a

start to the year for the girls and all that said, Team GB at the

A team of three in the women's case have got to get from A to B as

quickly as possible. Since the women have been riding this kind of

competition, we have had four World Championships, Great Britain have

won three of them. Let's look at the qualifying ride from Thursday

night. We are in pretty good form. But some mistakes were made. They

that start there, a second ahead with lap one. They got themselves

in a good place. Wendy Houvenaghel has been swoped for Dani King.

Let's see if it pays off. Is it a case of almost saying to the rest

of the world look at our strength and depth, we can make it through

the Gold Medal ride and still change our girls around. You have a

opportunity, if you lose the World Cup, it is not the end of the world,

here they want to - this is your last chance to try everything out

to give Dani a seat in this as well. What does it say about the strength

and depth there is in the women's pursuit. For a while in that

qualification run, they were under the world record time. It is the

most hard fought team to get into, five or six riders all fighting for

these three spots and every training session is absolutely full

on. The messages I have seen coming out of British cycling, they have

been described as the heart beat of British cycling, clearly there is

great hope for these girls, do they have best hope for gold? That's

what it has been until now. For the last few years they have been

strong and consistent. When we saw that qualifying ride, it is the

first time I have seen them make a mistake in a long time. It is good

it is now. This is Olympic year, if they are coming in as favourite, it

is an extra bit of weight for them to bear. A good ride from the

ladies. Going for gold here this evening. The men are going to be

riding for gold on Sunday night. What did you make of their

performance in qualifying? It was good. Again there was a bit of

finding out where everybody is at. Geraint Thomas did long turns,

perhaps they paid later fon that in the race. They got themselves into

being in the final. They can make themselves go quicker. The

Australians were impressive. I can see them learning a lot. Geraint

Thomas was at the front for a lot of that. He did a lap-and-a-half

turns, they can cut it to half a lap if they are slowing the team

down. The first one of those helped the team and gave everybody extra

rest, the second one might have been one too far. We will see the

battle for the gold meedal. Let's return to the track. This is all

about the bronze Netherlands against Australia.

Looking at the line up there for Australia, they have made one

change from the qualification. Edmond son nearest to us, Hoskins

in the middle has been pulled out and replaced by Amy Cure and then

Tomic. She will be the third rider in line.

They are against the team from the Medal, 12 laps of the track.

Settling down here. They start to get those big geres turning.

Australian set a national record in qualification. That was 1.3 quicker

than the Dutch. So the team from the Netherlands is going to have to

find something here if they want to put pressure on the Australians for

the Bronze Medal. The Australians have been World Champions on one

occasion in this event. That was in 2010. Tomic is the only surviver of

that line up here on the track. We are waiting for the first

kilometre sprit. very well indeed.

They will be smarting they didn't get into the final. It is not their

profiting from that very good good start. They have 2.18 seconds

advantage and they are actually focusing on trying to draw the

Netherlands in. They have got them well and truly in their sites as

cracks, a few signs of weakness. Towards the closing stages now.

Medal. Australia made got a new world

record. They have proven to be very quick. There was a lot of

speculation about how they are going to ride. The world record is

falling all the time. Then going so fast, the Netherlands, a pretty

quick time themselves, 1.21. That is what made it look deceptive,

both teams were going quick out there. It is hotter tonight. Fast

Fast conditions, two world records. Very, very impressive indeed. Three

world records now. Two in the team sprint and one in the team pursuit.

These boards are proving to be quick.

I am a firm believer that the track is a strack the track. The

conditions are very, very fast. You can see everybody knows this is the

big marker for the Olympic Games which is just a few months away now.

I think really, the opening kilometre by the Netherlands helped

underpin that ride for the Australians. They are finding that

first kilometre, you have to get away really, really quick. There is

no building into a ride any more. New world record now 3 set by the

Australians. What a fantastic ride that was. We can concentrate on the

contest for the Gold Medal now. We are looking at the team of Great

Britain. I can tell you the team for Great Britain have made one

change as well. The rider that has been pulled out is Wendy

Houvenaghel. King comes in to who have never won a medal,

suddenly the fastest qualifiers. Tara Whitten who will lead off.

Gillian Karlsson and third jasmine glesser

You are likely to see here Whitten, who is the Omnium world champion,

likely to see her open up with 1.5 to 1.75 laps.

this morning. Towards the end they began to crumble, but believe me

they are going to write a text book team pursuit here.

Great Britain have got far more Great Britain are on the same tempo.

I can tell you, they are not far away from the pace of Australia.

They do look at the smoother and cracks first here. The coach is

looking up at the score board because he is bemused by that. I

don't think he expected the Canadians to put up such a battle.

You get the feeling that it is Great Britain that are dictating

the terms and the crowd are lifting them. They are doing a very

controlled ride. They are starting to ease ahead a little bit now. But

now. They have the bit between their teeth. There could be a world

record here. The crowd are loving it! Great Britain into the closing

a new world record. What an amazing ride by Great Britain, they have

won the World Cup and sent the news to the world, anything you can do,

we can do better! That is what you call a text book ride. Fantastic

ride by Canada, really did well nor a while there, but Britain executed

that plan beautifully. It means the world record by by both teams set

by Australia was smashed. This track is providing us with

that per termance. -- performance. Wendy Houvenaghel sitting in the

middle, the change proved to be profitable. A fruitful evening so

far here for Great Britain. Two Gold Medals and two world records.

You can't ask for much more than that. It's going to be a question

of can they get them off the track as they celebrate. There is a

glimpse of the technique as they come together for the line, the

blanket finish. The time is taken on the third rider as they cross

the line. Look at the face there on King. 7 Great Britain, two Gold

Medals, two world records, astonishing.

Great Britain win the team pursuit with a new world record.

Chris Boardman was up in the commentry box. Another fantastic

ride. Another world record. Just the gold isn't good enough!.

Everybody expecting this in qualification and they were

disappointed and now you can't move for the things. That was just a

beautiful ride there. It was a risk putting Dani King in, she hasn't

been well but it paid off. That selected the team for the World

Championships. Let's talk about Canada for a moment. They haven't

got a stellar background as far as track is concerned of winning

medals, but they rode brilliantly. They did actually. They built a

reputation around Tara Whitten, she has been their shining star. When

you have one person like that, that is the first time we have seen

Canada manage that resource really well, to actually look after the

other riders and get the most out phenomenal performance, it took a

world record to win that Gold Medal. You went out hard in qualifying,

was there any danger in your performance tonight? We recognised

our mistakes from qualifying. We knew we had a fast ride in us. We

had to ride it better faced and get it right tonight. You are raoeuding

to a fast schedule. You must have known that time was well within

this group. We knew we had it in us, it was about riding it right and

not coming out too fast. Coming in at the last moment, stepping up,

what an amazing achievement. Amazing, this time last week, I

wasn't 100%, but I want to thank all the people who believed in me,

I believed in myself tonight, the girls were amazing. Thank you very

much indeed. Congratulations. Back to Hugh

Porter, seconds away from Chris Hoy looking to pick up his 50th medal

in world competition. We are into advantage at this point.

It's very, very tight indeed. Australia are still behind, but Sir

Britain take the Bronze Medal. Australia tried to put Great

Britain to the toward but Great Britain were victorious to the end.

That is That is Chris Hoy's 50th World Cup medal. Where does he keep

them all! They must have an enormous trophy

cabinet. Is Chris Hoy still hungry for

competition. starting style.

Jason Kenny, fastest man on the planet for lap two and then we are

looking here at Chris Hoy to complete the ride. Once again, Ross

Edgar was the opening man and he will be happy to to collect a world

Bronze Medal. Chris Hoy's 50th medal in world

competition. It doesn't matter what this is,

it's not about what the medal is, it's about the five months before

the Olympic Games. He gave everything he had, Chris finished

it off nicely. Explain the things they have done to make this a

particularly quick track? Really, it is very smooth, but mostly what

we are seeing here is the atmosphere. Low air density and we

have very high temperatures. We are We are in the middle of a cold snap.

It changes things a little bit. These guys get nailed down into how

to do things. Right now it's Gold Medal race off. This is going to be

some contest. It is the World Champions Germany, versus France.

France have been ten ten times the they have been juggling the

formation, they have not decided who will ride at the World

Champions. It's very, very close. It's very,

very close indeed. France are going well here. It

could go any way at all. Germany are just ahead.

The result is confirmed, a victory on the line for... Germany take it.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds

The time is 43.631. Germany, and the result as you can

see. Victorious World Champions as

Germany take it 43.562. Gold Medal for Germany. France push

them, but no great surprise, Germany the team to beat. As we

look towards the Olympics and World Championships, how do you read the

lie of the land. Surprisingly, Germany were lucky to

get away with that. Those first laps were first but not the fastest

we have seen. Every team has a lot of work. It says we have some raw

ingreed ingredients and there is time to pull it together. You try

to plan for an Olympic Games, but then you have this event and the

World Championships. We are not seeing athletes at the top of their

game. We will see them at the World Championships like that, but that's

not very far away. I think really here, it is like an audit of form.

This is the first chance to get a marker against the rest of the

world and see where they are at. Bronze Medal for GB. Let's hear

from the British boys. How did it feel to be out there on

the Olympic track? Mega. It's a great crowd here, really enjoyed it.

A big chance for you to show how you are doing with the man one

position. How happy are you? I am looking forward to the World

Championships and beyond so we'll see. You are not used to contesting

bronze. I know you would like to be in the Gold Medal race. What do we

read into this performance in the sprinting? We are coming back. We

have been messing about a bit with the formation and we still have

Martin, so we have moved forward. When you look at the gap between us

and these guys racing for gold now, a couple of tenths. We can

definitely get that back before the worlds.

Your 50th World Cup medal. I forgot about it being the 50th, but I have

never been to any venue and seen any home nation get the support we

have today. Seeing Vicky and Jess in the podium, you get caught up in

the emotion and it is hard not to let that distract you, but the

noise from the crowd is unbelievable, and we have to thank

the crowd, they have been the decisive factor in our performances.

You try not to think about this, but it's such a feel-good factor

when you turn up here. A Bronze Medal, you will be hoping

to turn into into gold in a few months, what are will you have to

do to change that? We are within striking distance, a length-and-a-

half behind them, not a lot and we are not making excuses, this was a

new formation, that was the fastest time we have done since 2009, we

have a lot to be proud of today, it is not a goad medal but it is a

medal we are very proud of and bring on the Olympics. Sir Chris

back in action tomorrow as well as Victoria Pendleton. Plenty still to

come this evening. Lots of live racing over on the red button.