Mark Stewart and Ollie Wood came up one agonising point short of a Madison bronze medal to leave Great Britain riding away from the Track Cycling World Championships with six medals.
The young British pair finished third in the final sprint for the line in the final event of the week, just inches away from second and the two vital points that would have taken them up onto the podium.
But they settled for fourth and brought the curtain down on a successful week for the British team in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.
Finishing with two gold medals, three silver and one bronze, Britain ended the championships second in the medal table alongside Germany, Australia and Italy - while the home nation led the way with 12 in total, including five gold.
Earlier in the day Elinor Barker - returning to action after being forced to miss Saturday’s women’s Madison following a crash in Friday’s omnium - came up short in the defence of her world points race crown, admitting something needs to change if she it to get back to her best.
“I’m not feeling myself to be honest, I haven’t done for a little while. I think something needs to change in training, race strategies, I’m not sure,” said Barker, who finished 12th in the points race to follow up her silver medal from the team pursuit.
“I didn’t feel like myself going into it. I tried to kid myself a little bit that I could maybe get a lap, but I would’ve needed so much luck, I just didn’t have the legs.
“The team pursuit was really special, that exceeded my expectations - especially considering how I knew I felt in myself.
“I’m a very long way off my best so I was a little bit worried about trying to keep up with Katie Archibald if I’m honest, but we just about managed it.”
The day’s other events saw Katy Marchant finish ninth in the women’s keirin, while fellow Olympic medallist Callum Skinner came ninth in the kilometre time trial, with Joe Truman 12th.
But the curtain fell on the championships after a thrilling men’s Madison that saw Wood and Stewart come so close to their first world medal as a pair.
Stewart had already picked up a first world medal earlier in the week, winning bronze in the points race, while Wood finished sixth in Saturday’s omnium.
And they looked to be on form early in the 200-lap race as they battled for sprint points, scoring in seven of the first 12 intermediate dashes.
In all, they registered points in 12 of the 20 sprints - accumulating 36 points - but it was their inability to take a lap on the field, something each of the other pairs in the top five managed, that ultimately cost them a place on the podium.
But with the pair both aged just 22 and more than two years to go until the Madison returns to the Olympic track cycling programme at Tokyo 2020, there is plenty of time to develop relative to the experienced pairs that finished above them in Apeldoorn. Sportsbeat 2018 Pics: SWpix.com