Great Britain’s elite track stars returned home from the UCI World Track Championships without a gold medal for the first time since 2001.

Three silver medals were all British riders had to show from the event in Paris, with the sprint squad failing to win a medal and the women’s team pursuit seeing their phenomenal unbeaten run come to an end.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however, here is a look at the three silver medals British Cycling did pick up and what we can learn from them.

Men’s team pursuit

After a disastrous campaign twelve months ago, which saw Great Britain’s men fail to qualify for the medal finals in Cali, the quartet bounced back in Paris.

Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Owain Doull and Andy Tennant powered their way into the final with two rapid rides, qualifying second in 3.57.717 and then beating Germany in 3.55.207.

In the final, the British quartet took the lead in the latter half of the race too, overturning an early deficit, but their time of 3.54.687 – though hugely impressive – was ultimately half a second slower than their New Zealand opposition.

Not only is the time encouraging, however, that it came just a month after Burke fractured his collarbone on a training ride in a crash which also brought down Doull is even more remarkable.

And with Sir Bradley Wiggins targeting a place in the British line-up for Rio 2016 too – having rode to silver at the Commonwealth Games for England with Clancy, Burke and Tennant – there is healthy competition for places in the British team.

Eighteen months out from the Games in Rio, the men certainly seem to be in an encouraging place.