The Australian men's team pursuiters have made a hot start in sauna-like conditions and taken the first step to redemption at the Olympic velodrome.
Unlike the slow Olympic pool, records were smashed repeatedly on day one of the track cycling program at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome outside Paris.
The temperature is deliberately kept warm, which means uncomfortable conditions for spectators that are perfect for the riders.
Australia qualified fastest in the men's pursuit, lowering the national record by more than a second - a whopping improvement.
Olympic medallists Sam Welsford and Kelland O'Brien combined with debutants Oliver Bleddyn and Conor Leahy to clock four minutes 42.958 seconds.
It was a much more straightforward qualifying ride than three years ago in Tokyo, when Alex Porter suffered a horrific equipment malfunction.
His handlebar snapped and Porter face-planted onto the boards at about 60km/h. In a major understatement, Welsford remembered that "as a bit of a disappointing disaster."
Australia rallied to win bronze - their only medal on the track at the Tokyo Olympics and their worst haul in the discipline since the 1980 Moscow Games.
Now they are firmly back in the hunt.
"That's a massive PB for us, to go 42.9, it's really special," Welsford said.
"But we knew it was going to be fast here, the track is so good for team pursuiting, the conditions.
"It was a bit of a surprise to see 42, to be honest ... but we rode it really well. We had a lot more to give, also, at the end.
"It's a lot of redemption, to come here, really have a good shot at it and really nail the process.
But O'Brien noted not too much should be read into qualifying times, given Tokyo gold medallists Italy and silver medallists Denmark rode after Australia and could stick to a schedule.
Great Britain, Australia's great rivals, also looked ominous in qualifying second-fastest.
"In Tokyo, on the first day, nobody would have said Italy was going to win ... just keep our heads on for now," O'Brien said.
The Australian team sprinters were not so happy, only managing third-fastest as they aim to usurp the powerful Dutch combination.
Leigh Hoffman, Matthew Richardson and Matthew Glaetzer were deep in conversation with team staff for several minutes in the Australian pits afterwards.
Predictably, the Dutch broke their own Olympic record with 41.279 seconds, also just shy of their 41.225 world record.
That mark will surely fall on the way to Tuesday's medal round.
Australia qualified third-fastest in 42.072 after upsetting the Dutch for the world title at this track two years ago and then narrowly losing to them at last year's worlds.
Great Britain qualified second-fastest, surprising Hoffman.
"It almost doesn't matter ... if - when - we do our quicker time, we're just going in for that gold-silver ride-off, really," he said.
"I assume it will be us and the Dutch in the final, but I don't want to say anything.
"Weird things happen. Teams come from out of nowhere - we were hoping we'd be the surprise today, doing that Olympic record straight away.
"We have some adjustments to do - that's no stress."
Australia will face sixth-fastest China in the Tuesday's first round, with the finals to follow.
The world record fell repeatedly in the women's team sprint, before Great Britain lowered it again to 45.186 as they beat New Zealand for the gold medal.
Australia did not qualify for the event.
