Britain's reigning world champion Victoria Pendleton topped qualifying for the women's sprint event at the world track cycling championships.

Pendleton stopped the clock after the 200m flying start in a new British record time of 10.904 to finish as the only rider of the 28-strong field to go under 11secs.

Simona Krupeckaite of Lithuania finished second in 11.093 while China's Shuang Gong was third in 11.002.

The fastest 24 riders from qualifying go through to the second round, where riders will face off in pairs.

The third round winners go directly into the quarter-finals, while losers to go into repechages.

Pendleton is the pre-race favourite for gold, although she is expected to be given a tough challenge by the likes of Krupeckaite, Guo and Dutchwoman Wills Kanis, who finished qualifying in 11.172.

The world record for the women's 200m flying start is 10.831 and is held by Natallia Tsylinskaya of Belarus, who stopped the clock at 11.221.

Ahead of the first gold medal events on the third day of the championships Britain have already won four golds from a total of seven events.

Follow comprehensive world track cycling championship coverage LIVE on Eurosport TV and uk.eurosport.yahoo.com! Eurosport is available on Sky 410 and Virgin Media 521; Eurosport 2 is available on Sky 411 and Virgin Media 525

AFP