Jason Kenny beat Chris Hoy in the semi-finals of the sprint at the World Championships in Apeldoorn, but could not get the better of the imposing Frenchman Gregory Bauge in the final.
Bauge was extremely impressive in both races against the 23-year-old from Bolton, clinching his third sprint world title in a row after victories in Pruszkow and Copenhagen.
Earlier, Kenny had beaten Hoy 2-0 in the semi-final. Kenny continues to improve and certainly has the upper hand in his battles with Hoy at the moment. After beating the Olympic champion 2-0 at the National Championships last September, Kenny has followed up with successive 2-0 wins over Hoy - at last month's Manchester World Cup and again here.
And in the third, he came around the shoulder of the Frenchman with ease. The way he reacted to winning the bronze medal - with a clenched fist and a big wave to the crowd - had them on their feet.
If proof were needed (and it probably wasn't), it showed that Hoy is far from finished, even if he did celebrate his 35th birthday earlier this week, on the same day Jason Kenny turned 23.
Meanwhile, Victoria Pendleton will have to beat Australia's Anna Meares if she is to stay on course for her sixth women's sprint world title - and fifth in a row - after progressing smoothly to the semi-finals.
The USA's Sarah Hammer saved the best for the last three laps in the final of the women's individual pursuit to overhaul New Zealand's Alison Shanks.
The men's omnium got underway and after three events - the flying lap, points race and elimination - Bryan Coquard of France is leading Elia Viviani of Italy by three points.
The elimination race was particularly lively. There was some bumping early on and then, almost inevitably, there was a crash. Britain's Sam Harrison found himself squeezed and the Belgian rider Gijs Van Hoecke went down as they collided. The race was neutralised while Van Hoecke was checked and moved out of the way. Harrison had to change bikes, which meant he rode without a red light on his handlebars - the method commissaires use to notify the riders who was last over the line each sprint lap.
The crash, the confusion, the neutralised spell and the refusal of the Russian rider to acknowledge the red flashing light on his bars once again suggested that the event's inclusion in the Olympics is a controversy waiting to happen. Who wants an Olympic title decided by a race that can descend so readily into farce?
A 21-year-old Colombian, Avila Edwin Alcibiades thrilled the crowd with a gutsy display in the points race. Having won sprint seven, he then attacked to gain a lap on the field. For a while it looked as if he was struggling to regain his breath as he sat at the back of the bunch, unable to move up. But he rallied to pick up more points towards the end and pipped Cameron Meyer, the Australian who won last year's world title in such incredible, dominant style. The 2009 scratch race world champion, Morgan Kniesky of France, took the bronze medal.
It was a captivating scratch race, and a complete contrast to the earlier points race that was part of the omnium competition. At 120 laps, the omnium's points race was 10 kilometres shorter and so was run off at 52 kilometres an hour, two kilometres an hour faster than the stand-alone points race. However, the ebb and flow of the stand-alone points race eclipsed it in terms of excitement.
MEN'S SPRINT
Semi-finals
MEN'S OMNIUM
Flying lap
4. Shane Archbold (New Zealand)
5. Michael Freiberg (Australia)
Overall standings, after three events
WOMEN'S SPRINT
Qualifying round
Semi-final line-up - scheduled for Saturday evening
WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL PURSUIT
Gold medal final
MEN'S POINTS RACE
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