Ireland miss out on women's team pursuit bronze at UEC European Track Cycling Championships in Apeldoorn

Ireland missed out on bronze in the women's team pursuit at the UEC European Track Cycling Championships as Germany claimed the medal at their expense.

On Wednesday, the quartet of Lara Gillespie, Mia Griffin, Kelly Murphy and Alice Sharpe qualified Ireland for the bronze medal final at the championships, which are being held in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn in a time of 4:20.881.

But they were unable to get the better of Germany in the battle for a medal on Thursday evening, covering the track in 4:21.539 in comparison to the Germans' 4:14.768.

Italy claimed gold after beating Great Britain in the title race.

Griffin will return to track later on Thursday for the women's scratch race at 8.25pm Irish time.

The European Championships mark a staging point for qualification towards the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Ten nations will qualify and Ireland were ninth in the rankings before the Euros.