The track cycling world championships in Melbourne provided five days of thrilling racing and the perfect preview to the tense battle between Australia and Great Britain at the London Olympic Games.

The scene is set for exciting re-matches in less than four months time where the stakes are even higher.

Australia pipped Britain 15 medals to 13 in Melbourne but British cyclists won more medals in Olympic events. Both nations finished with six gold medals but five of Britain's came in Olympic events. Australia picked up world titles in three events to be contested at the London Games- men's team sprint, women's kierin and men's omnium.

The "undercooked" Australian men's team sprint went on to win a dramatic gold medal on the opening night. The team of Matthew Glaetzer, Shane Perkins and Scott Sunderland was considered a work in progress so their unexpected gold medal augurs well for London. Glenn O'Shea kept the omnium title on Australian soil after Michael Freiberg won the title in 2011, while Anna Meares defended her kierin title in impressive style.

With some perspective, the Australians can see they have great depth and are only a few hundredths of a second from converting their four silvers from Olympic events into gold.

In beating Australia in the men's team pursuit for the first time since the 2008 Olympics, Britain came home strongly to pip the host nation by .106 of a second, a result which Australian Jack Bobridge described as a "kick in the guts". Just last month the Australians won gold at the London World Cup/ Test Event on the Olympic track.

Meares and Kaarle McCulloch were aiming for a fourth successive world title in the women's team sprint, but German pair Miriam Welte and Kristina Vogel set a world record to beat the Australians to gold by .048 of a second. Victoria Pendleton and Jessica Varnish entered the world championships as the world record holders but had to settle for fourth place in an indication of how tough the Olympic field wll be.

In only their third ride together, Australia's women's team pursuiters Josephine Tomic, Melissa Hoskins and Annette Edmondson continued their remarkable progress with a world record in qualification (later bettered by the British). They took silver in the final behind Great Britain and should be better in London.

In just her second international omnium Edmondson finished with silver just three points behind Britain's gold medallist Laura Trott. Edmondson also won silver on a count-back at the London World Cup.

Victoria Pendleton beat local favourite Meares in a thrilling semi-final of the women's sprint to go on to win the gold with Meares taking bronze. Their race exceeded even the intense media-hype leading in and will continue on to London.

Britain's four-time Olympic champion Chris Hoy won gold in the men's keirin with reigning world champion Perkins and team sprint world champion team-mates Glaetzer and Sunderland eliminated early.

Neither country will dominate track cycling in London like they did in Athens in 2004 when Australia won five gold and four years later in Beijing where Britain won seven.

But, between them, they will be the dominant teams at the velodrome and while Britain are in great shape heading into their home Games, Australia are not far behind.

Australian Medallists at the 2012 Track Cycling World Championships:

Gold

    Men's Team Sprint* - Shane Perkins, Scott Sunderland, Matthew Glaetzer
    Men's Omnium* - Glenn O'Shea
    Women's Keirin* - Anna Meares
    Men's Individual Pursuit - Michael Hepburn
    Men's Points Race - Cameron Meyer
    Women's 500 metre time trial - Anna Meares

Silver

    Women's Team Sprint* - Anna Meares, Kaarle McCulloch
    Men's Team Pursuit* - Jack Bobridge, Michael Hepburn, Glenn O'Shea, Rohan Dennis
    Women's Team Pursuit* - Josephine Tomic, Melissa Hoskins, Annette Edmondson
    Women's Omnium* - Annette Edmondson
    Women's Scratch Race - Melissa Hoskins
    Men's Individual Pursuit - Jack Bobridge

Bronze

    Women's Sprint* - Anna Meares
    Women's 3000m individual pursuit - Ashlee Ankudinoff
    Men's Madison - Leigh Howard and Cameron Meyer

* Events on the Olympic Games program