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| (L-R) Great Britain's track cyclists Paul Manning, Ed Clancy, Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins pose for photographers after winning the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games men's team pursuit finals at the Laoshan Velodrome in Beijing on August 18, 2008. [Agencies] |
Beijing -- British cyclists stunned the world by breaking their own world record to take the gold of men's team pursuit at the Beijing Olympic Games in Lanshan velodrome on Sunday.
Two-time Olympic pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins' dream came true after he paced the British quartet to a new world record of three minutes 53.314 seconds in the final, beating Denmark by 6.7 seconds to the second place.
"I just cannot believe it. We knew it was fast, but 3:53.3," Thomas said, "That's going to go down in history, that time won't be broken in a long time, we're the best team in the world.
The British quartet, who were beaten by the Australians in the 2004 Athens Games, stood on the podium with smiles on their face, received overwhelming cheering from British fans.
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| Members of the gold medal British team compete in the men's track cycling team pursuit at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 18, 2008. [Agencies] |
"I know how much these guys have sacrificed for this one event - it's just fantastic to be part of this team. We've come a long way in four years," Wiggins said.
Ed Clancy, Geraint Thomas and Paul Manning came over the finish line together in world record time, having raced as a trio for the final three and a half laps after losing Wiggins, something allowed in an event where the clock is stopped when the third member of the team completes the course.
"It was phenomenal. Yesterday I was pretty down after the first couple of rounds because I wasn't my normal self and didn't want to let these guys down," Wiggins added.
Wiggins hugged his teammates after the race, and led the quartet take a celebrating lap for the cheering audience.
The 27-year-old will aim for a third gold in Beijing when he pairs up with Mark Cavendish in Tuesday's Madison race.
Denmark took the silver, while New Zealand got the Bronze after defeating Australia earlier.
Britain dominated the track by winning five golds so far.
