Team Pursuit (6 laps), Women

With Canada and Germany dominating the women’s allround events, they were expected to medal in the team pursuit as well. At the first World Championships in 2005, Germany had won in front of their home crowd, ahead of the Canadians and the Japanese. At the Olympic test event in December, Germany had also beaten the Canadians.

Both Germany and Canada did not use their strongest team in the ranking round, leaving a surprising Russian team to lead the tables. In the elimination rounds, the Canadians and Germans did not meet with much opposition, Germany beating the Netherlands and Russia, Canada beating the United States and Japan, so the two favorites could meet in the final.

That race turned out to be rather uneventful, with Germany leading by about a second for most of the race, and even extending their lead in the final laps. In the bronze medal race, the Japanese ladies seemed to emulate their 2005 World Championship performance, but a fall cost them a medal, the bronze instead going to the Russian ladies.