Aussies, Kiwis take world team track cycling titles

Australia defended the men's team pursuit title, while New Zealand dethroned defending champion Germany to win the men's team sprint crown at the World Track Cycling Championships. The Aussies kept their crown by rallying in the last half to the race to defeat Denmark in the final. Glenn O'Shea, Alexander Edmonson, Mitchell Mulhern and Miles Scotson won in 3:57.907 with the Danish side of Lasse Hansen, Casper Folsach, Alex Rasmussen and Rasmus Quaade finishing the four kilometers 1.716 seconds back. Australia also took the world crown in 2010 and 2011 and finished second in 2012. In the men's team sprint, the qualifying-leader New Zealand lineup of Ethan Mitchell, Sam Webster, Edward Dawkins won the final in 42.840 with Germany's Rene Enders, Robert Forstemann and Max Levy .045 behind. The Kiwis lost to Germany in last year's final. New Zealand beat Russia for third in the men's team pursuit while France beat Russia for third in the team sprint. On the women's side, Germany downed China in the team sprint final with Miriam Welte and Kristina Vogel finishing in 32.440 seconds and China's Lin Junhong and Zhong Tianshi trailing in 33.239. Britain's Jessica Varnish and Rebecca James took third in 33.032, edging Russia's Elena Brezhniva and Anastasia Voinova by .122 of a second. In the women's 10km scratch final, Belgian Kelly Druyts took the title with Poland's Katarzyna Pawlowska second and Russian Evgenia Romanyuta third. Druyts, a 24-year-old who was third in 2012, completed the 40 laps in an average speed of 46.164 km/h. Source: AFP