The flying Dutch broke the world record twice in the space of an hour to retain their Olympic title in the men’s team sprint in dominant fashion at the National Velodrome on Tuesday.
Massive favorites ahead of the Games, the Netherlands trio of Roy van den Berg, Harrie Lavreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland put on a sprinting masterclass to power to gold.
Britain was trying to stop the so-called “Bullet Train” in the final but did not stand a chance as they came in almost one second behind in a race often won by the width of a wheel.
Australia beat France to take the bronze — their first medal in the men’s team sprint since 2000.
“It’s crazy,” Lavreysen, who is seeking to surpass his two gold medals from the Tokyo Games, told reporters.
“Of course we were going for the gold medal tonight but breaking world records and going so quick was really special.”
The Dutch team sent out a statement in the first round when they clocked 41.191 seconds to lower their own world record.
That was just the warm-up though in a sweltering velodrome as they turned the final into a procession against a British trio coached by track sprint great Jason Kenny.
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Lavreysen, nicknamed “The Beast” because of his phenomenal power, led out the second lap of the 250-meter track and the experienced Hoogland did the rest.
The 27-year-old Lavreysen, a 13-time world champion, will next try to defend his sprint title and then will go in the keirin, the only discipline he did not win in Tokyo.
Asked whether he feels unbeatable, Lavreysen smiled. “Well, it feels nice going into this week.
“Let’s go for it (three golds). I feel good, I broke my PB on my lap and really looking forward to the sprint.”
For Britain’s Jack Carlin, who was joined by Ed Lowe and Hamish Turnbull, it was yet another near miss and he must be sick of the sight of the orange-clad Dutch sprinters.
He now has 14 Olympic, world or European medals — but none of them gold.
“Look at the world record. The Dutch are a great team, they are three great individuals. We executed what we knew we could do. We went to that final and enjoyed it,” he said.
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