Britain is enjoying another gold-medal cycle

With apologies to Disneyland, Disney World and any other Disney enterprise, the Olympic Velodrome was the happiest place on Earth on Friday. And not because Kobe Bryant was in the crowd.

The British men’s track cycling pursuit team successfully defended its 2008 Olympic gold medal, soundly beating the silver medalists from Australia and the bronze-medal bikers from New Zealand.

Britain’s Victoria Pendleton won the women’s keirin gold medal. She held off a late surge from China’s Guo Shuang by no more than the width of her bike tire. Lee Wai Sze of Hong Kong took the bronze.

After Pendleton knew she had gold, she joined the crowd and everyone howled and screamed and pumped their fists in this rollicking venue that has been nicknamed “The Pringle,” because of the shape of its roof. And, yes, you can buy Pringles here.

Even in the women’s team pursuit qualifying, the home team was into one-upmanship. Shortly after Sarah Hammer of Temecula, Dotsie Bausch of Irvine and Jennie Reed of Long Beach set a U.S. record with a time of 3 minutes 19.406 seconds, the Brits demolished that by setting a world record of 3:15.669. The Americans qualified for Saturday’s medal round with the second-fastest time.

“The girls executed very well tonight,” said Benjamin Sharp, USA Cycling track endurance director. “Great Britain is obviously in a league of their own.”

Four years ago Hammer went to Beijing with great hopes of winning medals, but she and her teammates wore masks as a precaution against pollution and were publicly chastised by the United States Olympic Committee, which had recommended masks for any athlete whose competition took place outside. Hammer won nothing and later acknowledged she never recovered emotionally from the controversy.

Friday, Hammer was all (unmasked) smiles.

“Getting the American record feels amazing,” Hammer said. “Everything we’ve been training for the last four years is on the line. The first step is complete and it’s a great position to be in.”

The U.S. will race Australia on Saturday. If the Americans win, they guarantee themselves gold or silver medals. Friday the Australians had a time of 3:19.719. The British team will race Canada in the semis. The two losers must compete for the bronze against teams that finished fifth through eighth in Friday’s heat of this new Olympic event.

Bausch was pleased with the U.S. performance. “We’re in a good spot,” she said. “We’ll race Australia so we’ll have the mental upper hand from beating them. We know we beat them once, and we can beat them again.”

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diane.pucin@latimes.com

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