New Zealand's team pursuit four was savouring a rare win over Australia at the Laoshan Velodrome last night, and the country's sixth medal at the Beijing Olympics.
After years consigned to the back seat by its transtasman rival, New Zealand's quartet made up for the despair of missing the gold medal ride by ensuring Australia's medal drought continued in a sport it is accustomed to dominating.
New Zealand won the bronze medal ride-off with a clinical effort over 4000m.
They clocked 3min 57.776sec, pulling away over the last kilometre.
Australia, which trailed from the first lap of 16, posted a time of 3min 59.006sec.
Great Britain added the Olympic title to its world championship crown in the most emphatic of circumstances, obliterating Denmark in the final while smashing its own world record.
The British, who now have six track golds at this meet, clocked a staggering 3min 53.314sec.
In the preceding race, New Zealand played its part in diminishing Australia's legacy by humbling the Athens champion.
It is New Zealand's second medal at Laoshan, following Hayden Roulston's silver-medal winning individual pursuit ride on Saturday.
Roulston was on the podium again last night, very much the elder statesman alongside Sam Bewley, Marc Ryan and Jesse Sergent.
He had the luxury of dropping off for the last kilometre to soak up the surge to the line.
"It was unbelievable. Those guys are so young they don't even know what they're doing right now.
"It's quite phenomenal riding 3.57.
"One of the guys is 20.
"It's unbelievable and a good sign for the future," Roulston said.
Beating Australia for the first time at a major meet just added to the occasion.
"It's fantastic. We've beaten them at World Cups, not in a major competition.
"We haven't beaten them because they haven't got a good team either. The times have been astonishing. We've beaten them because we're better."
Told he was the first New Zealand track cyclist to win two Olympic medals, the 27-year-old declared:
"It's not finished yet. It means something for sure. I didn't come here to break records in that respect but to walk away with two medals. I'm absolutely ecstatic."
He has a chance at a third when he teams up in the Madison with Greg Henderson today and if not successful, there is always London in 2012.
The contribution of Peter Latham and Wes Gough was not overlooked either, the duo having played an important role over a four-year campaign initiated by New Zealand's winning of the junior world championships title in 2004.
They were not on to podium, but their input has been immense.
New Zealand now has four Olympic track medals.
Gary Anderson started the trickle with bronze in the individual pursuit in Barcelona, Sarah Ulmer was without peer in Athens and then Roulston added the first silver during New Zealand's record five-medal haul last weekend.
Earlier, in the women's 40km points race, Catherine Cheatley's injury-abbreviated season probably hindered the 2007 world championships bronze medallist, though Dutch champion Marianne Vos was in a class of her own after building an impregnable 30-point haul.
Invercargill-based Cheatley finished with no points and 17th of the 19 riders that finished the 100-lap event.
