Nick Westby: Varnish suffers the most through rigid application of rules

The large majority of punters in the velodrome for the opening day of competition will not have seen Pendleton’s illegal changeover.

They will not have seen her taking over from her team-mate half a bike wheel too early at the start of the second lap of the two-lap race before flying off towards another record.

Pendleton and Varnish were going at speeds of 54kmph, and the crowd were roaring their approval.

Rules are rules, but it felt like the audience had been deprived.

It was also extremely harsh on Varnish, who had a probable medal ripped from her grasp in the only event she will contest.

The vaildity of the rule – which was brought in only in March – was called further into question when the Chinese pair were relegated to second for the same infringement in what they thought was a world record-breaking gold-medal run in the final against Germany.

It made for a farcical conclusion to the team sprint.

It also briefly sucked the life out of what had been a white hot atmosphere inside the red-hot velodrome.

Kept at a toastie temperature in the high 20s to ensure more records will tumble on the boards, there was a haze of expectancy in the crowd that was eventually satisifed in glorious fashion by Sir Chris Hoy and the team sprint squad.

Prior to the victory of Jason Kenny, Philip Hindes and Hoy, Yorkshireman Ed Clancy laid down the first marker in his bid to win two golds over the coming days by helping the team pursuit squad to a thrilling world record.

A successful defence of their Beijing title will surely be theirs if they maintain that pace.

Stood watching from the middle was quite an unforgettable experience.

As photographers stand with their lenses pointed at the track, the cyclists warm down or warm up on exercise bikes or road bikes that would be the envy of any seasoned club cyclist.

The machines themselves on which medals are won and records are broken on, are pieces of art.

From inside the ring, the panoramic view of the track arcing up to the stands is awe-inspiring.

And one of the joys of the velodrome is how close the fans actually get to the action.

Somehow there are 6,000 seats in the velodrome, but because it is so compact, and the track and stands bank upwards, it makes for the most intimate atmosphere of any of the venues.

And when the crowd get to their feet, either cheering another record or belting out the national anthem in honour of a British champion – as they were fortunate enough to do yesterday – it is an inspirational venue.

They could just do with turning the heating down a little, and not enforcing rules so strictly.