Britain win team pursuit gold, Wiggins breaks medal record

Great Britain’s perfect start to the Olympic track cycling continued as Sir Bradley Wiggins and his team-mates Ed Clancy, Owain Doull and Steven Burke won the men’s team pursuit in thrilling style and a world‑record time. 

Bradley Wiggins of Britain poses with his fifth gold medal in Rio. Reuters/Eric Gaillard

The 36-year-old Briton won his eighth Olympic medal - his fifth gold - as the British track pursuit team stormed to a third straight Games gold, in a world record time to boot.

"It was gold or nothing. I'll be hung over tomorrow," said Wiggins.

That eighth medal was a British record, taking Wiggins past the mark he had shared with fellow track cycling star Chris Hoy.

Bradley Wiggins said he will finish his career where it all started after claiming a fifth Olympic title at the Rio Games.

"I'm riding the Tour of Britain in two weeks time so I want to get back and keep riding my bike so that doesn't become a slog," said Wiggins, whose last race will be the Six Days of Gent in November.

"Gent Six Days, which is where I wanted to end it -- my first memory as a child is being there with my dad when he was racing it.

"The place hasn't changed and it will be a nice end to my career, back where I was born, where it all started."

In a career spanning five Olympic Games, track and road cycling, Wiggins was the first Briton to win the Tour de France. He holds the world hour record on the track, he was world and Olympic champion in the road time-trial, and he is a four-time Olympic champion on the track.

The king may be going off into retirement but Britain is not done with track cycling domination.

"This is the best gold of them all. If truth be told, we haven't won a fat deal between London and now," said Ed Clancy, now a three-time Olympic gold medallist.

"We had some big downs and crossing the line there has made every single pedal revolution and every training session worthwhile."