British team's title defence ends early after Tanfield crash

World champions Britain were knocked out in the qualifiers of the men's team pursuit at the UCI Cycling World Championships on Thursday, following a Charlie Tanfield crash.

Tanfield, who also crashed during the Tokyo Olympics, suffered a big crash after his bike went from under him as he attempted to keep up with Dan Bigham and Ethan Vernon.

Despite a stretcher being brought out, the 26-year-old was able to walk unassisted after receiving treatment. His crash meant Britain did not finish.

Niklas Larsen, Carl-Frederik Bevort, Frederik Madsen and Lasse Leth took Denmark to the top of the qualifiers with a time of 3:46.816, with New Zealand and Italy rounding out the top three.

The eight quickest teams qualified for round 1, with Australia, France, Canada, Germany and Japan also going through. Belgium, China, Switzerland, the United States and Spain failed to qualify.

Round 1 will be held on Friday, while the finals will take place on Saturday.