Cyclist on Games track

MATTHEW Glaetzer has bettered his stunning 1km time trial benchmark on the way to an 11th Australian title on day one of the track nationals in Brisbane.

The South Australian finished in 59.759 seconds, ahead of Patrick Constable (1:01.812) and Cameron Scott (1:01.820) to win the first gold medal on offer at the titles.

The two-time Olympian clocked 59.970 seconds in November on his way to a World Cup victory in Manchester.

It was the fastest time recorded at sea level, but Glaetzer was confident of beating that in yesterday’s hot and humid conditions of the Anna Meares Velodrome.

A cooler-than-expected day prevailed, but Glaetzer was still good enough to defy that on Australia’s fastest track.