Records tumble on first day of track cycling worlds

Berlin - World records fell on Wednesday as Denmark and the Netherlands set new best times on the first day of the track cycling world championships in Berlin.

The Danes had already started the team pursuit in blistering fashion by setting a new record of 3min 46.579sec in a lightning qualifying display.

And they set a new best again in the next round as Lasse Norman Hansen, Julius Johansen, Frederik Rodenberg Madsen and Rasmus Pedersen recorded a time of 3min, 46.203sec to set up a final against New Zealand.

The Dutch men, meanwhile, smashed the team sprint world record set by Germany in Aguascalientes, Mexico in 2013 after they crossed the line in 41.275 seconds in the first round, a full half a second faster than the previous best.

Jeffrey Hoogland, Harrie Lavreysen and Roy van den Berg then crushed Great Britain in the gold medal final by chipping another 0.05sec off their own record to claim the title in style.

In the women's racing, Germans Pauline Grabosch and Emma Hinze delighted the home fans by snatching the team sprint title from holders Australia, while Kirsten Wild won the women's scratch race for the Dutch.