Geraint Thomas and Peter Kennaugh formed half of the Great Britain team pursuit squad which romped to victory in world-record time at the Olympics.

The duo - who ride on the road for Team Sky when they are not on Olympic track duty – teamed up with Steven Burke and Ed Clancy to produce yet another dominant display inside the London Velodrome, and their time of 3min 51.659sec proved a whopping 2.922sec quicker than their Australian opponents, who had to settle for silver.

It was the second time the British quartet had improved the world record they set in Melbourne in April, and they now have the four fastest times in history.

After taking the plaudits on the podium, Thomas said: “It was incredible. I really struggled after getting ill last week. Mentally it’s been really hard for me. Without these guys picking me up and keeping me confident, I wouldn’t be stood here.

"The amount of work we've had to put in.... In November we were at the track in Manchester at half seven in the morning. They stopped us going to see a Rihanna concert in November.

"They've been on our backs since then. It's been full on. To finish it off is amazing.”

Kennaugh added: “There were a few scary moments a couple of months back but I never stopped believing. All the support I’ve had is incredible. All that means the world to me.

“We’ve been talking about this since November and now it’s done and we’ve won it’s a surreal feeling. One that we’ll only come to terms with in time.”