Rowsell-Shand, who along with team mates Katie Archibald, Laura Trott and Elinor Barker beat the United States team by more than two seconds, told Reuters she was surprised at how speedily her team performed.
"I wasn’t shocked that we were going to win,” said Rowsell-Shand, noting that the team's coach gave them indicators in the final laps that they were in the lead. "The shock (was) at the time we had posted."
Britain's gold medal-winning performance came in 4:10.236 -- nearly two seconds quicker than the world record they set in the heats.
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It was Rowsell-Shand's second gold in the sport after winning at the London Games in 2012. Even after a night's rest, Rowsell-Shand said she was still trying to get her head around the achievement.
"It's beginning to sink in," she said.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
