Great Britain claimed a pair of team sprint silver medals on day one of the UEC Track European Championships in Grenchen.
Closing off an exciting yet error-strewn day of action at the Tissot Velodrome, the men's sprint team finished second in their gold medal race behind the Netherlands.
After a false start, the team of Jack Carlin, Joseph Truman and Alistair Fielding edged ahead of their Dutch counterparts in the opening exchanges, but they soon faded away and finished with a time of 43.565.
The Netherlands - led by two-time Olympic champion Harrie Lavreysen - finished over a second quicker in 42.325, while France edged out Germany in the bronze medal race.
The women's team sprint final would also require a restart following a backwheel spin for Germany, but once the top qualifiers kicked into gear, there was no stopping them on their way to the continental title.
It's SILVER 🥈 for the men's sprint team with another speedy effort rounding off a super day of racing from the lads 👏👏👏#EuroTrack2023 pic.twitter.com/nXLyF3shZ0
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) February 8, 2023
The British trio of Sophie Capewell, Emma Finucane and Lauren Bell gave Germany a good run for their money early on but ultimately took the silver medal, posting a time of 47.639 as Germany won gold with 46.865 on the clock.
Prior to the gold medal race, France - who qualified in second - were left to rue a poor start in the bronze medal event, as the Netherlands stormed to the final spot on the podium.
Earlier, the first medals of the Championships were awarded in the women's scratch race, where Portugal's Maria Martins blew the competition out of the water to take the European title.
Spain's Eukene Larrarte settled for silver, while Poland's Daria Pikulik was further back in the bronze medal spot. GB's Ella Barnwell placed sixth, while Alice Sharpe of Ireland finished 12th.
The European crown in the men's elimination race went to Tim Torn Teutenberg, with Portugal's Rui Oliveira and the Netherlands' Philip Heijnen in second and third respectively, while Fred Wright finished 14th for GB.
Ben Knapton
