Matthew Glaetzer sets blistering new kilo time trial sea-level world record
Australian Track Championships provide the scene for Matthew Glaetzer to clock a new sea-level record for the kilometre time trial
Matthew Glaetzer broke his own sea-level world record for the one kilometre time trial at the Australian track national championships on Thursday.
The 25-year-old Australian bettered his mark of 59.970 seconds set during the Track World Cup round in Manchester in November, clocking a new blistering time of 59.759 seconds.
Glaetzer said that he’d put in a big effort at the Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane to break the record in conditions that were favourable to going quick.
“Records are meant to be broken, especially when they are yours, you just want to keep bettering yourself,” Glaetzer told Cycling Australia.
“I was a little bit pushed to break the record again today, I was a little a bit tired heading in, but conditions are fast here.
“It shows it’s not a perfect day, but it’s still world record kind of conditions. I just held on and I’m stoked with that time.”
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The current fastest kilo times were all set at altitude, where atmospheric conditions are more favourable to going quickly.
The quickest ever time recorded was set by French rider François Pervis, who clocked 56.303 seconds at the notoriously fast Aguascalientes track in Mexico in December 2013. The track is situated at 1887 metres above sea level.
Glaetzer’s time means that he must be almost a certainty for selection to represent Australia at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, hosted by the Gold Coast, Queensland, over April 4-15.
“I’m coming into a really important time in my career where I can start ramping it up and setting some impressive times and put some races together to have a bit of success,” said Glaetzer.
The kilo time trial is still part of the Commonwealth Games, World Cup and World Championships track events but was dropped from the Olympic Games after Athens 2004.
Glaetzer is one of just four Australian track cyclists taking part in the 2018 UCI Track World Championships in the Netherlands over February 28 to March 4.