Pendleton storms to keirin gold

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Victoria Pendleton claimed Great Britain's third gold medal in two days of competition at the London 2012 Olympic velodrome with a stunning triumph in the keirin.

Moments after watching Ed Clancy, Geraint Thomas, Peter Kennaugh and Steven Burke clock a world record three minutes 51.659 seconds to triumph by a supreme margin ahead of arch-rivals Australia, Pendleton delivered in her least favoured event.
In the event which begins behind a motorised Derny bike, the 31-year-old from Stotfold, who is set to retire after London 2012, stormed to victory. Guo Shuang of China was second, with Lee Wai Sze of Hong Kong third.
The win sparked jubilant scenes from coach Jan van Eijden, British Cycling performance director Dave Brailsford and head coach Shane Sutton and was Britain's third gold medal of the track programme after Sir Chris Hoy, Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny won the men's team sprint on day one.
It was Britain's third success from four events.
It was Pendleton's second gold after her Olympic sprint title in 2008 and continued an eventful final competition for the multiple world champion.
Along with Jess Varnish, Pendleton was eliminated from the two-woman, two-lap team sprint for a takeover infringement on day one of the track programme, leaving the duo in tears.
But Pendleton, who last won the keirin world title in 2007, responded in an event brought into the Games for the first time.
World champion Anna Meares made an early move as soon as the pace-setting bike went off the track, but Pendleton accelerated from one-and-a-half laps to go and took to the front before sensationally pulling away to claim her second Olympic gold.
Meares, of Australia, was a distant fifth.
Pendleton celebrated with her fiance Scott Gardner, a coach with British Cycling.
Pendleton's focus was now set to turn to the individual sprint, which begins on Sunday and finishes on Tuesday's final day of the track programme.
Earlier, the Great Britain men's team pursuit squad claimed a thrilling Olympic gold, with Thomas declaring the foundations for victory came last November.
Thomas told the BBC: "The amount of work we've had to put in...
"In November we were at the track in Manchester at half seven in the morning. They stopped us going to see a Rihanna concert in November.
"They've been on our backs since then. It's been full on.
"To finish it off is amazing.
"I was ill last week and mentally it's been very hard trying to get back to where I was.
"Without these boys I couldn't have done it. They were super.
"The crowd is unbelievable. My ears are ringing. It's too loud."
Australia's Jack Bobridge, Glenn O'Shea, Rohan Dennis and Michael Hepburn finished with silver in 3mins 54.581secs.
The British quartet, who won Track Cycling World Championships gold in Melbourne in April, kept the Olympic title in Britain after Clancy, Thomas, Bradley Wiggins and Paul Manning won in Beijing.
New Zealand's Sam Bewley, Marc Ryan, Jesse Sergent and Aaron Gate claimed bronze in 3:55.952, with Russia's Evgeny Kovalev, Ivan Kovalev, Alexey Markov and Alexander Serov finishing fourth (3:58.282).
Clancy's focus will now turn to the six-discipline omnium, which is set to begin tomorrow.
It was the second time the British quartet had improved the world record they set in Melbourne in April and now they have the four fastest times in history.
Clancy, Thomas, Burke and Kennaugh soaked up the adulation of the partisan crowd, finding family members around the spectator seating of the velodrome on their laps of honour while waving the Union flag.
Andy Tennant, meanwhile, was an unused reserve and therefore missed out on a medal.
The performance came with Tour de France winner Wiggins watching on, as well as prolific winner Mark Cavendish and first Tour stage winner Brian Robinson.
Thomas and Kennaugh's focus could now turn to the road full-time, with their potential apparently unlimited.