Australia's team sprint squads have both claimed bronze medals in an excellent start to the UCI Track World Championships in Santiago, Chile.
The men's team pursuit squad will ride for gold on Friday (AEDT) after seeing off arch-rivals Great Britain in the first round at the Velódromo de Peñalolén.
In the sprint, the women's team of Alessia McCaig, Molly McGill and Kristine Perkins comfortably beat Poland in the bronze medal match, repeating their bronze medal from 2024.
Then the men's squad of Ryan Elliott, Leigh Hoffman and Daniel Barber overhauled a powerful French team to also win bronze.
Both finals saw Great Britain take on the Netherlands.
The Dutch came out on top on both occasions, meaning former Australian rider Matthew Richardson, who won three medals at last year's Paris Olympics in the green and gold, had to be content with another silver.
The Dutch victory handed legendary rider Harrie Lavreysen – a three-time gold medallist in Paris – his 17th track world title, extending his reign as the most successful track cyclist of all time.
In the team pursuit, Australia's squad of Oliver Bleddyn, Liam Walsh, Blake Agnoetto and Conor Leahy qualified second fastest behind Denmark – who they will meet in Thursday's final – in the morning's qualifiers.
The Australians are defending Olympic gold medallists in the team pursuit, but last won gold at the world championships in 2019.
Drawn against third-fastest qualifiers Great Britain in the first round, with the winner guaranteed a chance to ride off for gold, the Aussies' relentless pressure took a toll on the increasingly ragged-looking Brits.
The Australians led from start to finish to complete the 4-kilometre time trial at an average of 63.557kph.
In the women's 10km scratch race the irrepressible Lorena Wiebes came from the clouds to win a second-successive world title, pipping Danish rider Amalie Dideriksen on the line.
Wiebes, who won 24 races on the road this year and last week claimed the rainbow jersey in the gravel world championships, was closely monitored by the rest of the field, wary of the two-time European road champion's power in the closing stages.
Racing was cagey throughout the 40-lap race before Olivija Baleiisyte of Lithuania took a gamble with seven laps to go.
She was closed down by French rider Marion Borras with three laps to go, with Wiebes seemingly out of it at the back of a strung-out peloton.
But the 26-year-old SD Workx-Protime rider put the hammer down and went over the top of Dideriksen on the final bend.
New Zealand's Prudence Fowler came third and Australia's Claudia Marcks, making her world championship debut, came 18th.
