A youthful squad representing Great Britain in the Men’s Team Pursuit at the UCI Track World Cup could leave Beijing with a bronze medal.

The four-man line-up of Mark Christian, Sam Harrison, Joe Kelly and Simon Yates will face New Zealand later today (13) in the race to decide third spot on the podium.

The up-and-coming track stars will face a tough challenge, having qualified nearly four seconds slower than their southern hemisphere rivals, Gough, Karwowski, Latham and Simpson.

Team GB’s management and coaching staff have placed an emphasis on development and experience in Beijing over medal-winning performance. Great Britain is expected to field its strongest Men’s Team Pursuit line-up at the final round of the UCI World Cup at the Olympic velodrome in London next month.

The gold medal final will be contested by Russia and Australia, with the Russians having set the fastest qualifying pace.