Dutch rider Jeffrey Hoogland has smashed the men’s 1km time trial world record by almost a second.
The current world champion posted a time of 55.433 seconds in Mexico as he beat Francois Pervis’ 2013 benchmark.
The Frenchman’s time of 56.303 seconds had been the longest standing track world record.
That was also set in the Aguascalientes Velodrome, which is known for its fast track and favourable altitude conditions, 1,887m above sea level.
“I did it,” Hoogland wrote on X.
The 30-year-old, who had to be helped off his bike by Netherlands national coach Mehdi Kordi and took on extra oxygen after finishing, told Dutch daily newspaper Algemeen Dagblad: “I can’t really enjoy it yet. It hurts everywhere but I’m very happy with the world record – that’s why I came here.
“I almost expected miracles here at [this] height, but it was still a blast to cycle. It wasn’t until I heard the cheering at the finish that I knew it was a world record.”
The men’s kilo record has only been lowered on three occasions since France’s Arnaud Tournant became the first man to dip under a minute on the open-air track of the Alto Irpavi Velodrome in La Paz, Bolivia in 2001.
The 1km time trial has not been included on the Olympic programme since Sir Chris Hoy took gold for Great Britain in 2004.
