Team Pursuit, 4,000 metres, Men

Italy had been the dominant pursuit team for decades, but in the late 1960s began to be surpassed by the West Germans. They had split the last two World Championships, West Germany winning in 1970 and Italy in 1971. Also considered a force was the East German team, which had placed third at the 1971 World Championships. The shocker in qualifying was Italy placing ninth, and not advancing to the quarter-finals. In the semis, West Germany faced Great Britain. The Brits rode strongly and were about even with the favorites at the halfway point, when Willi Moore blew his rear tire and had to retire. With only three riders, the British had no chance and were soon overtaken by the FRG team, who sat up and did not have to finish. In the other semi-final East Germany faced a surprisingly strong Polish team, but eventually pulled away to win by over three seconds. The final was not as close as expected. West Germany opened an early lead and was up by almost four seconds with a kilometer remaining, winning the gold medal with ease. The bronze medal match was extremely close for 10 laps, but Great Britain was stronger near the end to win. Britain had won a bronze medal in this event at six straight Olympics, from 1928-56, and added a seventh in München.