Meares breaks her own world record

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PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain -- Australia's Anna Meares smashed her own world record as she stormed her way to gold in the women's 500m time trial at the world track cycling championships in Palma de Mallorca on Saturday.

The 23-year-old, winner of the gold at the Athens Olympics, sliced almost half a second off the mark she set at the Sydney World Cup classic last November, to set a new best of 33.588 seconds.

Cuba's Lisandra Guerra went one better than in 2006 and claimed the silver and five times time-trial world champion Natallia Tsylinskaya of Belarus took the bronze.

"As the season has progressed I've got better and better," a tearful Meares told reporters.

"I wasn't sure about a world record today after seeing the condition of the track. I knew the world record would be close, but I didn't even think about it. I just went through the motions of the race."

Joan Llaneras brought the house down by winning an emotional seventh world track title in front of his hometown crowd with a masterful performance in the men's points race..

The 37-year-old, who won his first world title more than a decade ago, made his bid for victory 56 laps from the end, piling on the pressure to break away from the field and earn himself a 20-point bonus by making up another lap on the rest of the riders.

He controlled the race from then on and, roared on by a capacity crowd at the Palma velodrome, he covered all his rivals' moves in the final stages of the 40-km race.

Llaneras considered quitting when Isaac Galvez, his partner for the Madison event, died after colliding with another rider in a track race in Ghent last November, but decided to continue because the worlds were being held on his home island.

The Mallorcan did an emotion-filled lap of honor, stopping to embrace his own family and that of Galvez.

Second gold

Britain's Victoria Pendleton won her second gold medal at the championships by taking the women's sprint title.

Shuang Guo of China claimed the silver and Meares the bronze.

Cuba's Yumari Gonzalez won the women's scratch race .Colombian Maria Luisa Calle took the silver and Adrie Visser of Netherlands the bronze after Rebecca Quinn of the United States was relegated for cutting into the sprinter's lane.

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Meares won the gold at the Athens Olympics.

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