NATIONAL track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang could not have asked for a better start to his fifth and final Olympic campaign.
The 36-year-old flew to a new national record around the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome to reach the second round of the men’s sprint event knockout stage.
Azizul then came from behind to beat German Luca Spiegel to qualify for the last 16.
The “Pocket Rocketman” earlier clocked the 10th fastest time of 9.402s, thus improving on his 200 flying lap national record of 9.523s set en route to winning the gold in the event at the Asian Track Cycling Championships in Nilai last year. Azizul’s time was the fastest by an Asian cyclist until Hangzhou Asian Games double champion Ota Kaiya blazed the track with a 9.350s moments later.
Their times obliterated the previous Asian record of 9.518s set by Japanese cyclist Yuta Wakimoto at the Olympic Games in Tokyo three years ago.
Joining Azizul in going through to the knockout rounds was fellow Malaysian cyclist Mohd Shah Firdaus, who clocked a new personal best time of 9.635s to place 22nd fastest.
The top 24 cyclists from qualifying advanced to the knockout rounds but Shah Firdaus met his match in Israeli cyclist M. Iakovlev, who was third fastest in qualifying earlier. He will have another chance when he takes part in the repecharge.
It was truly a scorching qualifying session with Australian Matthew Richardson the first to break the world record set by Trinidad and Tobago’s Paul Nicholas back in 2019.
Richardson clocked 9.091s to beat the existing mark of 9.100s set by Nicholas at high altitude in Bolivia.
But it did not last long. Flying Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen then clocked a searing 9.088s to top the timesheets in qualification.
Lavreysen is the defending Olympic champion for the event and the 27-year-old showed he meant business after leading the Dutch men’s team sprint trio to gold in a new world record time on Tuesday.
“We had expected some very fast times today because of the steep transition at the bend but not this,” said national track coach John Beasley.
“The entire field went under 10 seconds and you know this is going to be a brutal Olympic sprint contest.
“It’s a good way to start the sprint (going under the Asian record time).
“Everyone was fast but we are not far off, which is good.”
