British trio advance with world record

Great Britain's Joanna Rowsell, Dani King and Laura Trott set a world record in the three kilometre team pursuit to advance as fastest qualifiers on day two of the Track Cycling World Championships at the Hisense Arena in Melbourne.

Britain watched on as Australia's Annette Edmondson, Melissa Hoskins and Josephine Tomic, the 10th of 14 teams to ride, lowered the world record to three minutes 17.053 seconds. It was more than a second quicker than the time Britain set in February.

But Rowsell, King and Trott went faster still to finish in 3mins 16.850secs and set up another team pursuit duel between the World Championship hosts and the London Olympics hosts.

Victoria Pendleton was also safely through to Thursday evening's best-of-three quarter-finals in the women's sprint.

The Olympic champion qualified fifth fastest as Australia's Anna Meares, the defending world champion, set a world record for the flying start over 200 metres of 10.782 seconds. Pendleton clocked 11.076secs.

Meares then beat Colombia's Juliana Gaviria, the 24th and final qualifier, comfortably in her first head-to-head bout to progress and then eased past Cuba's Lisandra Guerra Rodriguez.

Pendleton met Yvonne Hijgenaar of Holland in the first knockout round and edged through by a wheel length. Pendleton then led from the front against Junhong Lin to progress at the first time of asking, with the Chinese rider falling into the repechage.

The Briton's team-mate Jess Varnish, eighth quickest in qualifying in 11.090, was eliminated by Junhong in the first round.

Britain's Ed Clancy clocked 12.881 to win the flying lap in the opening discipline of the six-event omnium, which is over 250m.

Shane Archbold of New Zealand was second in 13.086. The points race and elimination race follow this evening, with three further events on day three tomorrow.