RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) – Bradley Wiggins fired Britain to track cycling team pursuit gold in a titanic final battle with Australia on Friday, etching his name as his country’s most decorated Olympian to boot.
Not only that but the Wiggins, Ed Clancy, Steven Burke and Owain Doull set broke the world record twice, also smashing their own London 2012 mark while demolishing New Zealand to reach the final.
Britain’s third consecutive Olympic title in the endurance event was never the forgone conclusion some expected it to be as the Australian quartet of Alexander Edmondson, Michael Hepburn, Sam Welsford and Jack Bobridge ran them close.
The Australians made a terrific start and were leading for three quarters of the 4,000m race before Britain roared back to win by 0.743 seconds in a time of 3:50.265.
Former Tour de France champion Wiggins, affectionately known as Lord Wiggo after receiving a Knighthood for his exploits, ran across the steeply banked track to celebrate his eighth Olympic medal, one more than Chris Hoy with his wife Catherine.
A youthful Denmark took the bronze by comfortably outpacing New Zealand.
Britain’s women also set a world record in the team pursuit on qualifiers on Thursday as the powerhouse nation enjoyed a superb start to the track cycling programme in Rio.
The men won team sprint gold on Thursday.
