Hoy Five! Sir Chris wins gold in the men’s team sprint to equal Sir Steve Redgrave as Team GB sets a new world record

Hoy, Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes win Team GB's fifth gold of London 2012

Cheered on by William, Kate, Harry and David Cameron

Sir Chris Hoy has equalled Sir Steve Redgrave's record of five Olympic gold medals after leading the men's team sprint to victory in the velodrome.

The trio of Hoy, Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes led France from the start and powered home in a new world record time of 42.600 seconds.

A crowd including Prince William, Kate Middleton and David Cameron roared as the win was announced, delivering Team GB its fifth gold of the London 2012 Olympics.

Team GB sprint team Jason Kenny, Philip Hindes and Sir Chris Hoy pose with their gold medals Emotional Chris Hoy wipes away tears as the team take to the podium

Hoy is now Britain's greatest ever gold medal winner with five, alongside rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave Record breaker: An exhausted Hoy celebrates with coach Shane Sutton at the side of the Velodrome track after his triumph in the Men's Team Sprint Track final

Hoy broke down in tears as he was presented with his fifth gold medal.

He said afterwards: 'It's just great to win here in the UK, in front of this crowd.

'You cannot overstate what this means. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.'

But he downplayed the suggestion his achievement matched that of Redgrave, who won golds at five consecutive Olympics, in Los Angeles, Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney.

Hoy added: 'No one will ever beat Steve in real terms. I mean, to win five consecutive gold medals…



'I have experienced what it is to do four Games, I have no idea what it would be like to do another four years.

'And there is no way I'll be back in Rio.'

Flagging: Five-time gold medal winner Hoy, draped in the Union Jack, becomes emotional as his Olympic win sinks in

Proud to be British: Hoy soaks up the adulation of the fervent home support inside the Velodrome after his historic win

The team broke the world record three times en route to gold, setting new best times in the qualifying heat, the quarter finals and the final.

Qualifying started with a wobble as Philip Hindes fell during the team's qualifying heat, after a bike malfunction.

They were allowed a restart and scored the fastest time to progress to the quarter finals, breakign the world recording the process.

Paired up with Japan in the next round, the trio rode even faster, smashing the world record again, clocking a time of 42.747 seconds.

The performance capped a remarkable 24 hours for British cycling after Bradley Wiggins became the first man to win the Tour de France and Olympic gold in the same year with victory in the road time-trial.

it also took Team GB's medal haul for the day to six; three golds and three silvers.

It's one of Britain's best days ever, but falls short of 'Super Saturday' in Beijing when they won four golds, a silver and four bronzes.



In formation: Great Britain's men ride towards their new world record as the Velodrome crowd look on

Philip Hindes (front), Jason Kenny (C) and Sir Chris Hoy (back) led from the start and never gave France the chance to catch them Packed out: Great Britain's riders were roared to victory by a vociferous Velodrome crowd this evening

Hoy must now wait until Tuesday's final day of the track programme to compete in his second event, the men's keirin, after being overlooked for the sprint, which Kenny is set to start on Saturday.

Hoy is world champion in the keirin.

William and Kate embrace in the crowd as Team GB storms home in the velodrome

Speaking before he flew the flag for Britain at the opening ceremony, Hoy promised the sprint team was 'at our best since Beijing'.

But he warned they faced formidable opposition. He added: 'The teams are so close that any medal would be an achievement, but that's not saying we are not looking to win gold.'

The men's success made up for the disappointment of British duo Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish's disqualification from the women's team sprint, after breaking the rules during their changeover.

The pair had set a world record in the two-woman, two-lap event in qualifying, before the mark broken moments later by China.

The Britons then set the second fastest time in the first round and were due to advance to the final against China, who set another world record, but officials ruled against them.

The medal ceremony, and the men's final were then delayed after one of the Chinese cyclists stormed off, unhappy with the decision.

Pendleton will resume competition in the keirin tomorrow, but for Varnish, who has focused on the starting lap in the event, the Games are over.

Germany were promoted to the final against China, which they then won after China recorded the fastest time, but were eliminated because of another illegal changeover. Australia beat Holland to win bronze.

Speaking about her disappointment, Pendleton said: 'We have never had an illegal change, so we weren't really thinking about it. It's just one of those things that happened. We were probably just a bit too eager and excited for a ride.

Team effort: Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Chris Hoy wave to the patriotic crowd in the Velodrome after receiving their medals

Hoy and his wife Sarra pose with the gold medal

Tainted gold: Sir Chris Hoy celebrates his win by kissing his wife Sarra. But the victory was mired in controversy last night





Early wobble: Philip Hiindes lost control of his bike soon after the start of qualyifing

Hindes crashed in the heat, but the race was allowed to be restarted - and trio stormed to a new world record On the up: Britain's gold medal-winning exploits today saw them rocket up the Olympic medal table into 5th



'Now and again rubbish things happen and this is one of those days. The only positives I can take is that I know I am in really good form because that was the fastest second lap I have done. I just need to get my head down and concentrate on the races to come.



'I'm desperately disappointed for Jess Varnish because she has done an incredible job in getting this far.