ITALIANS CLINCH GOLD WITH NO PLAN

Duo just go all out to take women’s cycling madison title; Lavreysen is sprint king again

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France So chaotic is the Olympic track cycling madison event that all the best-laid plans can be shredded in the blink of an eye so newly crowned women's champions Italy opted not to even have one.

Instead, Chiara Consonni and Vittoria Guazzini seized their opportunity late on with an audacious move, taking them from midranking on the leaderboard to the gold medal at the Saint-Quentinen-Yvelines Velodrome.

The relay-type event covering 120 laps of the velodrome sees teams of two riders per nation take it in turns to race in the peloton handing over to their teammate via a unique arm sling.

With points awarded for sprints every 10 laps, and for long-range attacks which lap the field, it can be a mind-boggling affair even for those taking part, and strategy is key.

The Olympic final on Aug 9 was actually refreshingly simple. The Netherlands team of Maike van der Duin and Lisa van Belle leapt to the top of the points standings after catching everyone by surprise to take a lap on the field.