Aguascalientes’ high altitude meant it was always likely world records would tumble over the weekend, but the manner in which the men’s flying 200m time was wiped out was phenomenal.
Kevin Sireau’s mark of 9.572 seconds, set in Moscow, had stood since May 2009, but his four-and-a-half year record was obliterated on the Mexican boards.
Four men went inside the time – France’s Francois Pervis, Australian Matthew Glaetzer, Czech Republic’s Pavel Kelemen and German Maximilian Levy, representing Team Erdgas.
The fifth fastest rider, German sprint king Robert Forstemann, was just 0.01 seconds outside of the mark.
To add context, the last time the World Cup was held in the venue, in January, the fastest lap time – albeit with a field lacking many of the Olympic sprint competitors – was 9.663.
This time out however, Pervis set an incredible mark of 9.347 – becoming the first man to average more than 77km/h for the distance.
Forstemann’s time in qualifying fastest in Manchester was 9.799, almost half a second slower.
And while it did not help Pervis to a medal of any kind, after he was knocked out in the head-to-head heats before Glaetzer beat Jason Kenny in the final, the Frenchman has set a record which may now stand for quite some time.
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