CYCLING - Italy looked like an invicible quartet in the team pursuit. But finally they lost a dramatic final to France.
The semi-finals were a close affair. Both races saw teams end within 5 seconds of eachother. France and Italy came out on top, beating Great Britain and Uruguay respectively.
It seemed like nothing could go wrong for the Italians in the final. They build an early lead and after seven laps their advantage was more than two seconds.
But then fortunes turned. The French slowly came back and with two laps to go it was anybody's race. Finally Italy broke down, one of their riders even had to be helped over the line. The gold medal was French. In the race for bronze Great Britain beat Uruguay easily by ten seconds.
