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British cyclists Richardson and Bjergfelt set world records in Turkey

BRITISH duo Matt Richardson and Will Bjergfelt both set world records in Turkey today.

Richardson became the first man to go under nine seconds in the 200 metres flying start, recording a time of 8.941 seconds at the Konya Velodrome.

The 26-year-old, who switched allegiance from Australia to Britain last December, surpassed the previous record set by Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen.

Richardson said: “I did it. I came here to do that, and that’s what I did, so it’s a pretty cool feeling to accomplish the one thing that I came out here to do. A bit of relief there.

“It was a lot faster [than I’ve previously ridden], I was basically just a passenger. I gave the bike a bit of direction and it was just steering itself almost.”

Bjergfelt, meanwhile, broke the men’s C5 hour record, covering 51.471 kilometres in 60 minutes.

Bjergfelt comfortably surpassed the previous mark of 47.569km, becoming the first para-cyclist to break the 50km barrier.

“I don’t think it’s quite hit home yet that I’ve smashed the world record on the track and that’s a dream come true,” said the 46-year-old.

Charlie Tanfield missed out on the men’s hour record, covering 53.967km to become the fourth fastest British rider.

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