The Great Britain trio of Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner set a new Olympic record on Thursday to qualify fastest in the men's team sprint and get the track competition off to the best possible start for the British squad.
They produced a technically perfect ride to finish 0.111 of a second ahead of reigning world champions New Zealand and over half a second faster than the Australians in third.
France qualified fourth while the Germans could only manage seventh after having to replace their man two at the last minute due to a stomach bug.
It was a return to form for the British team that bodes well for the next two rounds later tonight. Their round one match will be against eighth place Venezuela who posted a time 1.7 seconds slower.
Both Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny are reigning champions while Rio is Callum Skinner’s Olympic debut. The next two rounds take place later tonight.
Men's team sprint qualifying
1. Great Britain 42.562 (Olympic record)
2. New Zealand 42.673
3. Australia 43.158
4. France 43.185
5. Poland 43.297
6. Netherlands 43.688
7. Germany 43.711
8. Venezuela 44.263
9. Korea relegated
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