Rio Olympics 2016: Jason Kenny’s triple gold quest is on as Team GB’s men sprint team smash Olympic record to beat New Zealand
TEAM GB have their first cycling gold medal of the Rio Olympics.
Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner were roared to victory over New Zealand in the final of the men's sprint, winning by just 0.1 seconds in a photo-finish.
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The win means Kenny's triple gold quest is very much on - and gives GB the perfect start to the indoor cycling.
Earlier the trio unveiled their new looks - namely abandoning their old moustached 'new looks' - and they broke the Olympic record after a scintillating first qualifying round.
But they came out even harder in the final and smashed their own record - with the Kiwis unable to respond.
Earlier, Holland’s team pursuit saw their medal hopes comes crashing down - along with one of their bikes.
Whilst Team GB women’s 4km team pursuit team smashed the world record on their first ride.
Kenny said: “It was all a bit of a surprise really. We’ve been going quite well in training so we had a rough idea of what we could do but we surpassed that in that first ride when we set that Olympic record.
"At that point I thought we could run away with it like London but then New Zealand came back at us and set the benchmark. We just went into the final with nothing to lose.
"The team event is always the best no doubt about it. You get to win it with your mates and I remember that with Chris and Jamie in Beijing and then again in London. It’s good to share it with your mates – it can get a bit lonely winning on your own.
"We made it a priority to make sure Callum was on the back of us so we could protect him as much as possible. We knew he had it in him so I’m not surprised that he’s stepped up to be the best in the world. It all came together and we’re really chuffed. Today was pretty special and it was a good first day in the velodrome for all of us."
Hindes added: "It felt like a home Olympics with all the GB flags here and a bit like London. As a team we’ve come together in the last three months and have been working so hard since the World Championships.
"We were just desperate to win the gold medal. We’ve missed out on so many World Championships so to win the Olympics again is just amazing.”