MARK STEWART may have missed out on his first World Championships medal in Hong Kong last night, but he has his eyes firmly set on the biggest prize in cycling.

The Dundee prospect was part of a new-look team pursuit squad that suffered defeat at the hands of Italy in the bronze medal race off.

Only Steve Burke remained of the quartet that won Games gold in Rio last summer, beating Australia in a world record time, with Stewart, 21, being joined by Kian Emadi and Oliver Wood.

Stewart admitted: "It's a world championships so you want to come and do as well as you can so it is disappointing when the best you can do is fourth.

"But that's motivation. Tokyo is at the forefront of our minds and the long term goal is getting it right in 2020. I want to be part of this team then.

"That's definitely my goal, what's driving me on. It's just a case of taking things step by step and learning from not just these championships but what we do throughout the year."

Stewart admitted the quartet did not have the best of starts but it made little difference as they clocked three minutes 58.566 with the Italian's winning in 3:56.935.

The gap to the more experienced Australian team was soon evident as they took the gold medal from New Zealand with a scorching winning time of 3:51.503.

It was Australia's sixth world title in the past eight years compared to a solitary success for Britain, though it is GB who have won the past three Olympics.

"We knew coming into that we'd have to do a 55 or a 56 to get a medal," added Stewart, who will line-up in the points race today. "And I think we were on for that. We knew the last kilo would be a race and we just died off a bit."

Now all eyes turn to Scotland's two big hopes for individual success in the velodrome as Olympic champs Callum Skinner and Katie Archibald get their campaigns underway today.

Archibald, who won team pursuit gold last summer with Laura Kenny, embarks on the new look omnium event which has been changed from a six-race event over two days to a four-race event held on a single day.

The three individual timed events have been dropped with the new format consisting of four bunch races, with the scratch, elimination and points races retained and a new event - the tempo race - added.

It could suit Archibald's strengths in the bunch races as she looks to stake an early claim on the omnium place in Britain's team for the 2020 Games in Rio if reigning world and Olympic champ Kenny returns after childbirth.

Archibald has been going it alone in another way too. With the support of her coach Paul Manning, she has been choosing her own training plan since the Olympics.

“At the moment I’ve got freedom," said the 23-year-old from Milngavie. "I’m writing my own plan and Paul has been really laid back about it and supportive.

“I think, wisely, he’s allowed me to have the space and make mistakes. I am really enjoying having the autonomy and the authority to make my own decisions and call the shots - let’s hope it doesn’t backfire.”

Olympic Games team sprint gold medallist Skinner begins his sprint campaign looking to add to the silver he won behind Jason Kenny, missing these championships like wife Laura, in Rio.

"Going to Hong Kong with the Olympic success that I had, it doesn’t take away the pressure, it just changes it slightly," said Glasgow-born Skinner, 24, who moved to Edinburgh as a youngster.

"Before the Olympics, it was about stepping up and trying to take over that mantle from Sir Chris Hoy and do the best job I could. That came with a lot of pressure in itself. So, it’s not that there’s any less, it’s just changed.”

Bolton's Chris Latham claimed Britain's second medal of the championships with bronze in the scratch race to add to Elinor Barker's silver in the women's equivalent.