Reduced GB team bags more medals

By Les Clarke in Melbourne

With only three riders making the trip for the Australian leg of the track World Cup series, the Great Britain team has picked up where it left off in Manchester, with a strong showing on night one in Melbourne.

Joanna Roswell, who took third behind Wendy Houvenaghel and Tara Whitten in the women's individual pursuit during the first round in Manchester, topped the qualification standings and made it into the gold medal race against Australia's Josephine Tomic with a time of 3:38.088.

In the final against last year's multiple junior world champion, Roswell shined, despite this only being her second World Cup. She downed the fast West Australian with an incredible come-from-behind performance that showed just how much potential the 21-year-old possesses.

Great Britain representatives Elizabeth Armistead and Katie Conclough made an appearance in the final of the women's scratch race. The pair performed to perfection and Armistead brought home another gold medal just minutes after Roswell had secured the first.

In a testament to the environment the Great Britain coaching staff has created for younger riders, all three commented that they felt comfortable and privileged to be part of the successful outfit, which has proven 2008 is the year of white, red and blue.