Britain come sixth in men's team sprint

Olympic champions Great Britain missed out on a medal in the men's team sprint on day two of the Track Cycling World Championships in Minsk.

The men's team sprint squad of Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Kian Emadi finished in 44.270 seconds in qualifying, good enough for sixth.

New Zealand's Ethan Mitchell, Sam Webster and Edward Dawkins were fastest qualifiers in the three-man, three-lap event in 43.580secs and will meet Germany in the final after Rene Enders, Stefan Botticher and Maximilian Levy clocked 43.731. France and Australia will contest bronze, while Russia were also quicker than Britain.

Hindes and Kenny won London 2012 gold with Sir Chris Hoy, who is currently on sabbatical as he considers his future, with 20-year-old Emadi taking the Scot's place in his first senior World Championships.

And Britain's long wait for a world title in the event goes on.

Los Angeles in 2005 was the last time Britain's men won the team sprint at a World Championships, when Hoy combined with Jamie Staff and Jason Queally, meaning that curiously Kenny has two Olympic titles, but none in the annual global event.

The qualifying ride was ragged and led to an ultimately disappointing result.

The men's team sprint was a challenge for Britain in the four years between Beijing and London, with the search for a successor for Staff only complete when German-born Hindes, who has a British father, showed dramatic late improvement.

Now another search is on, this time to replace six-time Olympic champion Hoy, who is deliberating whether to continue to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow or to retire.

Sprint coach Jan van Eijden said: "It's very hard to replace someone like Chris. We have four years to hopefully get it right."