World records are getting shattered in cycling at the Olympic velodrome. There are a few reasons why

By DAVE SKRETTA

MONTIGNY-LE-BRETONNEUX, France (AP) — Sam Welsford had just dismounted from his space-age bike, the one that costs about as much as a Range Rover, and looked at the record time his teammates from Australia had just set in the men’s pursuit at the Paris Olympics.

“I reckon,” Welsford said with a charmed smile, “we’ll have to go faster for gold.”

Related: Complete coverage of the Summer Olympics

That’s because through the two days of track cycling at the...