Medal Alert: Matt Walls and Ethan Hayter win Madison silver

Matt Walls and Ethan Hayter produced a stirring late surge for Madison silver as Team GB's velodrome medal tally swelled to six.

The pair laid the foundation for a podium place by finishing in the top three in five of the first six sprints, including maximum points in the third.

A late breakaway from Belgium, Spain and

Denmark was threatening but Walls and Hayter came roaring back to win the double-points final sprint.

It would earn them ten points, leaving them level on 40 points with France but taking silver thanks to their closing effort. The Danish pair of Lasse Norman Hansen and Michael Morkov took gold.

It was a second medal for Walls, who won omnium gold, with south Londoner Hayter having taken part in the team pursuit.

Walls, 23, from Oldham, said: "There was definitely some points in there we could have improved on but to say we haven't rode together and we haven't raced a Madison in a long time, there was obviously going to be some mistakes but we rode well and feeling good.

"We came away with a silver in the end so I'm pretty happy with it."

The men’s Madison was making its first Olympic appearance since 2008, with Team GB enjoying previous success when Rob Hayles and Bradley Wiggins won bronze at Athens 2004.

Team GB have won medals in both men’s and women’s events at Tokyo 2020, with Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald taking gold in the very first women’s Madison to ever be contested at the Olympic Games.

Hayter, 22, from south London, said: "We were a lot closer to winning than I thought we would be. The Danes were the strongest pair definitely.

"We did do some Madison. I actually did some of the sessions with Katie [Archibald] and Laura [Kenny] in the academy which was great!

"There's been such little track racing. I had a crash, broke my leg and my tendon and missed the Euros.

"Then Matt had coronavirus and missed Gent GP so we've been a bit unlucky in that sense.

"Matt thoroughly deserves the two medals he's got. He's had coronavirus and a bit of a tough time.

"It's amazing. It's an Olympic medal!"