Former Wagga cyclist, Cameron Scott, is celebrating an historic gold medal for Australia at the UCI World Track Cycling Championships in Poland overnight.
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In his world championship debut, Scott was the fifth rider for Australia's gold medal-winning men's team pursuit outfit which beat Great Britain in the final, and beat their own world record in the process.
Just hours after the result, Scott told The Daily Advertiser it's an achievement he'll remember forever.
"This is my first elite world championships so it means a lot to be crowned world champion tonight," Scott said.
"I owe it to my teammates for backing me all the way, we have all worked really hard for this over the last six months.
"Also to the Australian Cycling Team coaches and staff for giving me the opportunity to be here.
"To watch the boys smash the world record time in the final and pulling on the rainbow jersey for the first time is something I'll never forget."
The 21-year-old's teammates, Sam Welsford, Kelland O'Brien, Leigh Howard and Alexander Porter, stopped the clock in 3:48.012 to beat Great Britain by nearly three seconds in the 4000m event.
Scott had made his debut at the world championships earlier in qualifying as Australia produced the quickest time to grab number one ranking. Porter, Welsford, Howard and O'Brien then got the job done against the New Zealand to progress to the final against Great Britain where they bettered their world mark by more than a second.
The former Wagga rider's rise to the top of the world was met with delight in his old home town.
It caps a big few months for Scott who in November won gold at a track cycling world cup event in Germany. He then enjoyed road success at carnivals in Tasmania and St Kilda before tackling the national road championships in Ballarat, where he won a bronze medal.
In early January, he said Tokyo 2020 is his aim in the long run. Helping Australia to an historic achievement at the world championships won't hurt his hopes of heading to the Olympics.
Scott, who now lives in southern Sydney, represented Australia at multiple junior world championships. He made the move to track endurance events in 2017.
It was an extraordinary night for Australia at the world championships with Scott's good mate Welsford also winning the men's scratch just half an hour after the team pursuit win, and Australia also taking gold in the women's team pursuit.
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