'No panic' over GB team pursuit silver in London

• Wednesday, 22 February 2012
• Nigel Wynn
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Team GB in team pursuit, London Track World Cup 2012, day four

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Great Britain men's endurance coach Dan Hunt has said that there's 'no panic' after Britain's defeat at the hands of the Australian squad in the team pursuit final at the Track World Cup on Sunday.

The British quartet of Geraint Thomas, Ed Clancy, Peter Kennaugh and Steven Burke were pushed hard by the Aussie line-up of Jack Bobridge, Rohan Dennis, Michael Hepburn and Alexander Edmondson, eventually finishing a second and a half behind the visitors at the London velodrome.

Australia's time of 3-54.615 set a new Australian record, and was only just outside the world record of 3-53.314 set by Great Britain at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. Britain clocked 3-56.330 in the final to take silver in the official track test event ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games this July.

"The key thing at times like these is not to panic, the easiest thing to do now to do is think ‘right we are behind we've got to squeeze, we've got to push'," said Hunt to British Cycling.

"From a result point of view it's never nice [to get beaten], you're going to feel like you've been punched in the gut but it's about looking at ourselves.

"We are where we hope to be and we know that we're moving forward and that we've got a little more to come - mixed emotions really."

Britain's final didn't go smoothly, with Thomas touching Kennaugh's wheel causing the Welshman to swing up the track to regain control of his bike. Although the time lost due to the incident was a fraction of a second, the Australian squad gave a flawless performance to clinch gold and the overall 2011-12 World Cup team pursuit title.

The British women's team pursuit squad fared better, with the trio of Dani King, Laura Trott and Jo Rowsell smashing the existing world record to beat Canada in the final.

The squad's next target is the 2012 Track World Championships in Melbourne over April 4-8, which will - of course - dictate who will go into the London 2012 Games as world champion.

Related links
London Track World Cup 2012: Coverage index