Spanish cyclist goes out on top

BEIJING, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Joan Llaneras of Spain, who said this would be his final competitive event, won the gold medal as expected Saturday in cycling's points race.

Llaneras, 39, won three of the 16 intermediate sprints and earned points by placing in the top three on four other occasions. The sprints occur every 10 laps in the 160-lap race.

Llaneras, who won the event in Sydney eight years ago and was the silver medalist in Athens, finished with 60 points.

Roger Kluge of Germany picked up 58 points and won the silver and Britain's Chris Newton took the bronze with 56 points. No other rider had more than 20 points.

Britain also picked up a gold medal in the individual pursuit when Bradley Wiggins defeated New Zealand's Hayden Roulston in the final.

Wiggins successfully defended the title he won in Athens, becoming the first person to win this event twice in a row since it came into the Olympics 44 years ago.

Chris Hoy and Ross Edgar completed a big day for Britain in track cycling by going 1-2 in the Keirin race. In that competition, a motorcycle steadily picks up the pace for the field until leaving the track to let the sprinters fight it out over the final few laps.