Olympic Cycling 2016: Track Medal Winners and Times After Friday's Results

Sir Bradley Wiggins is Great Britain's most decorated Olympian ever, as his team raced to the gold medal in world-record time in a thrilling men’s team pursuit final Friday.

In the battle with Australia in Rio de Janeiro, the quartet of Wiggins, Ed Clancy, Owain Doull and Steven Burke paced their run perfectly, winning by a narrow margin of 0.74 seconds. The former Tour de France winner has now won eight Olympic medals in total, five of them gold.

In the bronze-medal showdown, Denmark comfortably got the better of New Zealand.

Earlier, China’s Gong Jinjie and Zhong Tianshi won the women’s team sprint over Russia’s Anastasiia Voinova and Daria Shmeleva, while Germany won the bronze-medal battle against Australia.

Here is a look at the results from the Olympic Velodrome, the live medal standings and a recap of the best action from the track:

	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Women's Team Sprint	China (32.10 Seconds)	Russia (32.40 Seconds)	Germany (32.63 Seconds)
Men's Team Pursuit	Great Britain (3:50.26, WR)	Australia (3:51.00)	Denmark (3:53.789)

Wiggins Leads GB to Gold

Phil Walter/Getty Images

Great Britain had been the dominant force in the run-up to the team pursuit final, setting a world record in the process. The experience of Wiggins, who won gold in the event in 2008, was critical to their cause. Even against the might of Australia, they were heavy favourites to get the job done.

Still, with heavy expectations on the British foursome, the pressure can occasionally bite on the big stage, especially against the world champions.

Australia started better, pulling out an early lead and showcasing sharper changes from the off. At the halfway point, the men in green and gold had around seven-tenths of a second on their opponents.

But Australia lost a man with around six laps left, while Team GB's quartet remained intact. It was key in the latter chopping down the gap and grabbing gold with a frenetic dash to the line. While it was a stunning team triumph, it was extra special for Wiggins, as BBC Sport noted:

Team Sky's Geraint Thomas, a former team-mate of Wiggins, commented on the outstanding performance:

"It's hard not to come off the track and spout a load of cliches, but really, the last 12 months we have done everything together," Wiggins told the BBC. "Training camps at altitude, early starts and late finishes. Cycling on Christmas Day. It was all for this and we've done it. These three guys here are amazing."

In the race for bronze, Denmark controlled the pace throughout the contest. The Danes took the race out quickly, building up more than a second advantage at the halfway point. They showcased plenty of slick changeovers to keep their distance, with the outcome never being in doubt.

In the women’s team sprint, there was a sweet victory for China, which made amends for their massive disappointment in London four years ago.

Gong and Zhong thought they’d secured victory at those Games before they were controversially disqualified. However, there was no doubting this one, as the pair were too good for their Russian opponents.

ODD ANDERSEN/Getty Images

Zhong was superb leading out, allowing Gong to build momentum and win by a comfortable distance on the last lap. It wasn’t the duo’s fastest time, but the relief etched onto both of their faces in the aftermath suggested they weren’t concerned about personal bests.

Germany’s pairing of Kristina Vogel and Miriam Welte were disappointed not to have made it to the final, although they enjoyed a bittersweet day, having won bronze against Australia.