London Track World Cup: Second gold for Hoy on final day, Australia takes team pursuit

Sir Chris Hoy today picked up Great Britain's fifth gold medal of the London round of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, adding the individual sprint title to the keirin he won yesterday. Laura Trott, meanwhile, won bronze in the omnium. It was Australia, however, that won the first gold medal today, beating Great Britain in the men's team pursuit.

In winning the individual sprint, Hoy, the Olympic champion, reinforced his case to be given the sole place for a British rider in the event at this summer's Olympics, ahead of Jason Kenny, recently awarded the 2011 world championship after France's Gregory Bauge was stripped of the title due to whereabouts violations.

Kenny went out in the quarter finals, as did Matt Crampton, while Hoy beat Bauge to set up a meeting with Robert Forstemann in the semi final. That was followed by a final against another German, Maximillian Levy, whom he beat by taking two races without reply.

In the team pursuit, both teams had gone out quickly, Great Britain's quartet of Geraint Thomas, Ed Clancy, Peter Kennaugh and Steven Burke setting world record pace for the first kilometre.

Australia, led by individual pursuit world champion Jack Bobrdige, hit back, building an advantage of around a second, but appeared to be getting reeled in during the closing laps until Burke got dropped from the British quartet with two laps left, their rivals powering away in the closing two laps to won by 1.715 seconds, the third fastest time ever. 

In the women's keirin, Victoria Pendleton qualified first in her semi-final, but finished out of the medals with Simona Krupeckaite of Lithuania taking gold.

Trott, who had won a thrilling elimination race yesterday evening in the omnium, picked up bronze after finishing two points behind the USA's Sarah Hammer and Australia's Annette Hammer, the American clinching gold due to recording a better time in the time trial.

The final medal to be decided was in the third and deciding bronze medal race in the men's individual sprint. That race saw Forstemann catch France's Kevin Sireau napping, the German bursting away on the first bend and quickly opening up a huge gap, giving him time to soak up the applause of the crowd as coasted around the final lap, already celebrating.