Great Britain won their first gold of the Track Cycling World Championships on day two in Cali, Colombia.

Joanna Rowsell, Laura Trott, Katie Archibald and Elinor Barker claimed Britain’s sixth women’s team pursuit world title out of seven and a first gold of the 2014 World Championships ahead of Canada.

The victory – in four minutes 23.407secs to the Canadian quartet’s 4:24.696 – so nearly did not happen as Barker’s legs gave up on the final lap, with Trott fearing a collision which would have ended with half the British team sprawled on the track.

Trott said: “I thought if she turned any quicker she’d take me out and then it’d be game over if I take her down. You get lucky sometimes, I guess and that’s what happened.”

Olympic champions Britain won five of six world titles in the event over three kilometres and their dominance had shown little sign of abating with the addition of an extra kilometre and an extra rider this season before they sealed another rainbow jersey.

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