Team pursuit is arguably the most skilled discipline in track racing as riders follow each other centimetres apart at 60km/h, swapping turns on the front with miltary precision and balletic grace.
Today in Manchester, Denmark surprised everyone and qualified fastest, breaking the four minute barrier with a time of 3:57.73 to push hosts Great Britain into second place with 3:58.98.
But in the final, it was a totally different story. Britain's quartet of Ed Clancy, Bradley Wiggins, Paul Manning and Geraint Thomas delivered a stunning performance to win the gold in a time of 3:56.32, setting a new world record in the process. The Brits shaved 0.3 seconds off the previous record, set by Australia at the Athens Olympics nearly four years ago.
Denmark had to be content with silver, although they did go under four minutes in the final. The bronze went to Australia, who defeated New Zealand by nearly two seconds.
Stephen McMahon was in Manchester to capture all the action.
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For more reports, results & photos from the track world championships, see Cyclingnews.com.