Netherlands 'bullet train' powers to team sprint gold

SAINT QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France :The flying Dutch broke the world record twice in the space of half an hour to easily retain their Olympic title in the men's team sprint at the National Velodrome on Tuesday.

Massive favourites ahead of the Games, the Netherlands trio of Roy van den Berg, Harrie Lavreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland put on a sprinting masterclass to roar to gold.

Britain were trying to stop the so-called "Bullet Train" in the final but did not stand a chance as they came in almost one second behind in a race often won by the width of a wheel.

Australia beat France to take the bronze - their first medal in the men's team sprint since 2000.

The Dutch team sent out a statement in the first round when they clocked 41.191 seconds to lower their own world record.

That was just the warm-up in a sweltering velodrome as they turned the final into a procession.

Lavreysen, nicknamed "The Beast", led out the second lap of the 250 metre track and Hoogland did the rest.

The 27-year-old Lavreysen is tipped for three golds in Paris with the individual sprint and keirin still to come.