Australia's team pursuit men have qualified at the top of the rankings at the Paris Olympic Games, closely followed by Great Britain.
The Australia quartet came close to setting a new world record in their ride at the St Quentin en Yvelines velodrome on the outskirts of Paris, with a time of 3:42.958 for the 4,000m event.
The world record, set by Italy at the Tokyo Olympics, is 3:42.032.
Great Britain's quartet of Ethan Hayter, Ollie Wood, Dan Bigham and Ethan Vernon also put in a fine ride, running Australia close with a time of 3:43.241. Other teams that qualified in the top four and are therefore able to compete for a gold or silver medal were reigning Olympic champions Italy, and Denmark (who won silver in Tokyo) in fourth and third places respectively.
Italy in particular had a rollercoaster qualifying ride, starting out quickly but nearly losing their third man, Simone Consonni, towards the end and having to hold on for that qualifying time.
The fifth to eighth spots – teams that are only able to compete for bronze – went to France, New Zealand, Belgium and Canada.
The German and Japanese teams both failed to qualify.
The team pursuit competition continues tomorrow with the women's qualifying and the men's first round, while the remaining events, including the medal races, take place on Wednesday.
Multiple records tumbled on what was a sweltering first night in the velodrome, with Great Britain's women setting three world records in the team sprint, on their way to winning the first available track gold medal of the Paris Games.
It was an exceptionally fast evening, with a fast track combining with high temperatures and low air pressure.
In the last Olympic Games at Tokyo, Great Britain qualified in fourth place but were knocked out in the first round after being caught by Denmark.
That was a race laden with incident, with the Danish third man ploughing into GB's Charlie Tanfield as the Danes made the catch.
Great Britain will be hoping for a smoother passage towards the medals finals this time round.
Paris Olympic Games: men's team pursuit qualifying results
1. Australia 3:42.958
2. Great Britain 3:43.241
3. Denmark 3:43.690
4. Italy 3:44.351
5. France 3:45.514
6. New Zealand 3:45.616
7. Belgium 3:47.232
8. Canada 3:48.964
Not qualified
9. Germany 3:50.083
10. Japan 3:53.489
