ORDINARILY it is kind of atmosphere that would prick goosebumps, but that proved somewhat tricky in conditions carefully temperature-controlled to a sweltering 27ºC.

Those walking into the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow last night were hit simultaneously with a wall of heat and noise, the arena a simmering cauldron of anticipation.

But that was nothing to match the roar as the British cycling team, including a quintet of Olympic gold medallists, stepped on to the track.

This weekend the venue, part of the Emirates Arena, is playing host to the second round of the 2012-13 UCI Track Cycling World Cup.

For Glasgow, it marks the first major international competition to be held at the velodrome which bears the name of Britain's most successful Olympian, Hoy, and will provide a key focal point of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Those hoping for a thriller were not disappointed. The day got off to a dramatic start when the British men crashed out of the team pursuit in spectacular fashion during qualifying.

With Ed Clancy making the switch to the sprint, Geraint Thomas and Peter Kennaugh both having returned to road racing with Team Sky and Steven Burke having withdrawn due to injury, it was a squad notably absent of Olympic bling.

That should have provided an opportunity for up and coming British Cycling Olympic Academy riders Joe Kelly, Sam Harrison and Owain Doull, alongside 2012 team pursuit world champion Andy Tennant, to show their mettle and shine.

But a touch of wheels with four laps to go saw Kelly come crashing to the ground taking Harrison and Tennant with him, the pristine Siberian pine track receiving a baptism of blood and skin.

All three suffered cuts and abrasions, Tennant requiring six stitches to his right knee. Despite being visibly shaken, he was confident he would be back in action in today's individual pursuit.

Men's endurance coach Chris Newton was reluctant to blame the crash on the inexperience of a young team. "You can't roll back time, it's happened," he said. "It's disappointing to crash, but it's one of those things. It hasn't happened to us for a couple of years now."

There was better luck in the women's team pursuit as Olympic and world champions Laura Trott and Dani King showed that they had lost none of their sparkle since London, taking gold alongside team-mate Elinor Barker who had stepped in as the third rider in the absence of Joanna Rowsell.

After a somewhat ropey qualifying round, they pulled off a blistering performance to finish ahead of rivals Australia. Belarus saw off Lithuania to take bronze.

"We had to make a few adjustments after qualifying," said Trott. "Dani didn't have a great ride but we knew we could produce better. Elinor and I did half a lap longer each to take a bit away from Dani and it worked."

"It felt a lot better in the final," said King. "We won and that's all that matters. I just wanted to do my best. This is the first step towards Rio and I have a lot more to give. If this is bad form, I can't wait to see me on good form."

British women's sprint duo Jess Varnish and Becky James, meanwhile, went some way to putting the disappointment of London 2012 behind them with a great ride to take gold over Spain.

James, a reserve in London, failed to make the final Olympic team, while Varnish missed out on a medal after being disqualified in the opening round of the team sprint alongside Victoria Pendleton.

The win, which brought them a new PB of 33.428, adds to the gold Varnish and James took at the opening Track World Cup of the winter in Cali, Colombia, last month.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day, however, came from the men's team sprint trio of Jason Kenny, Philip Hindes and Ed Clancy who took silver behind a strong German team lead by Robert Forstemann.

With Sir Chris Hoy on a break from competitive cycling, Olympic team pursuit champion Clancy is experimenting with making the move to the sprint discipline.

Having expressed trepidation that he could end up riding round on his own for three laps, he found his dogged tenacity rewarded in his debut sprint final.

"It's like a completely different sport to the team pursuit," he said afterwards. "The mind set before a team pursuit you are preparing yourself for a bit of water torture. Contrast that with a team sprint where you turn up aggressive and get your war face on for three laps. You blink and it's over."

"It was good," added Kenny. "Ed jumped straight in, we all did reasonable rides. It's the first time we have ridden as a team, we wanted to nail it and that's what we have done."