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UCI Track World Cup 2013/14: round two – five observations

Records tumble in Mexico while Great Britain's men's sprint team return to form

New line-up, same result – it seems Great Britain’s rivals can do nothing to stop the ever-changing quartet’s dominance in the women’s team pursuit.

Britain’s track queen Laura Trott sat out of the event to focus on the omnium – in particular to improve her bunch racing – in Mexico.

Katie Archibald (right) and Joanna Rowsell (centre) teamed up in Mexico to smash another team pursuit world record alongside Dani King and Elinor Barker (pic: Alex Broadway/SWpix.com)

But with Scottish teenage sensation Katie Archibald restored to the line-up, there was no halting the Great British charge.

Archibald, who won two medals for Scotland’s Braveheart team at the last round, told RCUK of her determination to win back the world record she had originally set as part of the European gold medal-winning team in Apeldoorn.

And she stayed true to her word as she lined up alongside Olympic gold medalists, Joanna Rowsell, Dani King and Elinor Barker to do exactly that.

The quartet shaved half a second off their world record in qualifying, before once again smashing it in the final as Canada, for the second round running, found Great Britain to be simply unstoppable.

They stopped the clock at 4:16.552 in Aguascalientes to ensure they will end the year as world record holders.

With five of the world’s most talented riders all batting for a place in the quartet come the World Championships and, in the longer term, the 2016 Olympics, the record is likely to keep tumbling too.

Canada’s qualifying effort of 4:19.629 show they are not as far off as the final results may suggest, but for the time being at least there appears to be no stopping Great Britain.

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