After securing bronze against Australia in 44.235sec, the trio of Sir Chris, Jason Kenny and Matt Crampton were left to watch the gold medal clash from the side-lines as France's three-man team of Gregory Bauge, Michael D'Almeida and Kevin Sireau claimed victory in 43.867 to beat Germany into second as they crossed the line in 44.483.

Britain's pursuit team of Sam Harrison, Steven Burke, Andy Tennant and Peter Kennaugh also won bronze to make it two podium finishes for Britain and Sir Chris was eager to focus on the positives with over 15 months to go until the Olympics.

"We came in here as the third-ranked team and probably got the result we deserved," he said.

"We used to be more than half a second down on the French and now we're closing the gap.

"We'd prefer gold or silver but we're heading in the right direction.

"The medal table may not reflect exactly what we're looking for but the boys did well, personally I was pleased with my ride and you can't ask for more than that.

"Think back to pre-Beijing, we didn't win a world title until the Olympics."

Australia and France meanwhile, won one gold apiece, in the men's Olympic events of team pursuit and team sprint respectively, as Belarus and Hong Kong also struck gold on the opening day.

"We were beaten by a better team in the men's team pursuit and there's no excuses for that," said Shane Sutton, Britain's head coach.

"But the team is progressing.

"Teams have stepped up their game since Beijing and we've got 14 months to do that too.

"I'm confident in the team of coaches we've got, and the home crowd will raise the performance of the team.

"It's a good young squad; I honestly believe that the team is going to move forward."

Both Australia and France will be among Britain's few authentic rivals once the track competition gets underway in London next August, and have clearly laid down a warning to the London 2012 hosts ahead of the Games.

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