Paris 2024 track cycling: All results, as the Netherlands set world record to win gold in men’s team sprint
The Netherlands rode to victory in the men’s track cycling team sprint, clocking a world-record time of 40.949 seconds to claim the gold medal at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome on Tuesday, 6 August.
The trio of Roy van den Berg, Harrie Lavreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland rode faster than any trio in history, becoming the first team to ride 750m in less than 41 seconds.
“It was awesome, it was like a home race, so many Dutch people here, it's close to the Netherlands,” said Hoogland. “The track is nice, warm and fast, we were ready, everything was perfect, and then going under 41 seconds is amazing."
Van den Berg got off to a flying start over the first 250m, nearly leaving his team-mates outside his draft. Nevertheless, Lavreysen caught it before the changeover, setting up an ideal second lap for the Dutch trio.
Lavreysen put his powerful legs to use, gradually increasing his speed and building a larger gap for Hoogland to utilise in the final lap.
Hoogland took over from Lavreysen at the 500m mark, speeding away to a world record and Olympic gold medal.
"When I crossed the line after two laps, I was searching for the time, and I saw the 28.8,” said Lavreysen. “That was a record for the two of us, and I knew Jeff was under me, so I knew it was going to be crazy.”
He added: “I was already smiling on my bike before he finished, and then I saw the under 41 time. That was crazy."
Team GB couldn’t match the sheer speed of the Netherlands, riding to the finish line in a time of 41.814 to claim the silver medal.
Ed Lowe got off to an equally strong start as Van den Berg, but his team-mates rode outside his draft for much of the first lap. This created an uphill battle for Team GB, with Hamish Turnbull and Jack Carlin losing time to the Dutch trio.
Still, they were more than pleased to finish with the silver medal.
"We know what we can do as a team. We had that in the tank if we executed well," said Carlin. "It's not easy to come to your first Olympic Games. I'm really proud of the team. We surpassed what we wanted. We will enjoy that."
Australia won a tight battle against hosts France in the bronze-medal match to claim the final spot on the podium with a time of 41.597.
The Australian trio of Matthew Glaetzer, Leigh Hoffman and Matthew Richardson got off to an untidy start, but recovered to overpower the French trio of Florian Grengbo, Sebastien Vigier and Rayan Helal by the end of the second lap.
"It was a really hard one, and a challenging one," said Richardson. "I could not even be prouder of the team that I am riding with and it shows the heart that we put into that final ride, switching it up last minute without any preparations."
The crowd saluted the effort of the French riders, who raced to fourth in a time of 41.993 seconds.
Track cycling: Men's team sprint podium
Gold: Netherlands
Silver: Great Britain
Bronze: Australia
See all the results on Olympics.com.