Great Britain's men exited in the first round of the team sprint at the World Track Cycling Championships in Shanghai, losing to Australia after finishing fifth in qualifying. Joe Truman said the team had started "on the back foot" following the withdrawal of team-mate Matt Richardson, who was pulled from the competition on Monday amid allegations of misconduct.
The 27-year-old, who had also been expected to contend for medals in the individual sprint and keirin, said he would co-operate with a British Cycling investigation into the allegations. His withdrawal overshadowed preparations for the event, though the British women secured a silver medal in the team sprint.
Emma Finucane, who is Richardson's partner, along with Sophie Capewell and Rhianna Parris-Smith, finished fastest in qualifying and beat France before losing to hosts China in the gold-medal race. The men's team of Joe Truman, Ed Lowe and Harry Ledingham-Horn was beaten by fourth-placed Australia in the opening round of head-to-head races.
"We came with a bit of a last-minute change, obviously," Truman said. "We're on the back foot a bit, but let's just put our best foot forward." Elsewhere on day one, Britain's women and men progressed as first and second fastest respectively in qualifying for the team pursuit, while Abigail Miller finished 17th of 24 riders in the women's scratch race.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing