The host nation crossed the line second in their eagerly-anticipated clash with reigning champions New Zealand but the Kiwis were relegated to silver after they were adjudged to have performed an illegal manoeuvre in the final.

The look of anger on the faces of the New Zealand team, comprised of Ethan Mitchell, Sam Webster and Ed Dawkins, was clear for all to see, and the French trio of Gregory Bauge, Kevin Sireau and Michael D'Almeida received their medals from UCI President Brian Cookson in front of a half-empty arena as many fans had left thinking the Kiwis had defended their world title.

In the bronze medal match-up, Germany edged a tight race as they beat Russia to ensure they earned a podium finish.

The Chinese team of Gong Jinjie and Zhong Tianshi were in imperious form as they clinched gold in a world record time ©Getty Images



The men's team sprint event capped off a fascinating opening day after China's women had earlier broken the world record on their way to taking team sprint gold as they beat Russia in the final.

The Chinese duo of Gong Jinjie and Zhong Tianshi powered around the track in a time of 32.034sec to clinch both the world title and also the world record in front of a raucous Parisien crowd.

The bronze medal went to the Australian team, who included double Olympic and five-time world champion Anna Meares, after they beat Germany.

Despite the slight disappointments in the team events for the Germans, they did have some individual success as Stephanie Pohl took the first gold medal of the Championships as she won the women's points world title with a total of 38.

That proved enough to beat Japan's Minami Uwano, who finished on 28 points, while American Kimberly Geist was third.

The medals to be decided tomorrow include the women's team pursuit, in which Great Britain are bidding to claim a fifth successive gold, as well as the men's team pursuit, the men's keirin, the women's 500m time trial and the men's scratch race.

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