Cycling News - Australia's Matthew Glaetzer became the first rider to break the one-minute mark at sea level in the one-kilometre time trial during the round of the Track Cycling World Cup at Manchester on Sunday.
Numerous riders have dipped under 60 seconds for the four-lap event at altitude –- most notably at Aguascalientes, Mexico where the current world record of 56.303 seconds was set by France’s Francois Pervis in 2013 – but nobody had previously done so at sea level.
Glaetzer rode the qualifying round of the Manchester World Cup meeting in a time of 59.970 seconds, an achievement made all the more impressive given the 25-year-old from Adelaide had only switched his attention to the event, regarded as the most prestigious race in track cycling, this year.
High altitude offers a great advantage to athletes in high-speed, short-distance sprint events, such as track and field and cycling, due to the lower atmospheric pressure and air resistance.
The kilo was, controversially, removed from the Olympic Games schedule after Athens in 2004 but has remained on the Commonwealth Games programme.
