Australia have beaten fierce rivals Great Britain to win the men’s team pursuit gold medal.

The combination of Olympic medallists Sam Welsford and Kelland O’Brien, plus debutants Oliver Bleddyn and Conor Leahy, clocked three minutes 42.067 seconds to beat the British in Wednesday night’s decider.

It was a pulsating final, but two of the British riders touched wheels on the last lap and nearly crashed, blowing out the margin.

Australia broke world record in Tuesday’s first round at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome outside Paris, after also qualifying fastest.