FORMER Wimmera cyclist Jason Niblett has won a silver medal in his first event at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
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Niblett, 31, was pilot for South Australian five-time Paralympic gold medallist Kieran Modra, 42, in the men's one-kilometre time trial B2 tandem early Saturday morning.
Neil Fachie and Craig Maclean won Scotland's first gold medal for the 2014 games with a time of 1:02.096.
This is Niblett's second Commonwealth Games medal, after he was a part of the Australian team sprint trio that won gold in Delhi in 2010.
He and Modra also won silver in the event at the 2014 UCE Para-Cycling World Championships earlier this year - where Fachie won gold with Peter Mitchell.
Ahead of the race, Niblett said he and Modra had hit peak form at a training camp in Newport, Wales.
“The form’s there. It’s just making sure we get the process right to put our best form into practice,” he said.
“I think our sprint form might be better than our time trial form.
“Either way, we are starting to go the best we have this year, so it’s starting to come together.”
The pair will also compete in the men’s sprint B2 tandem.
Niblett said he believed they were a good chance to claim a medal in both events.
“I’d like to think that we will bring home a medal. Just what colour I’m not quite sure,” he said.
“We know we’re in the best form we can be.
“If we get a medal or not, as long as we put in our best performance, that’s all we can do.”
Niblett’s wife, daughter and mother have joined him in Glasgow.
“It’s a first. I not only get to experience it myself but get to share it with my family,'' he said.
“It’s such a good experience. You can’t help but be lifted by having a huge number of world-class athletes in the village.”