With Richardson and Glaetzer competing in separate heats, Richardson qualified direct to the quarters and Glaetzer used the repechage to progress.

Getting there did not come without a challenge for Richardson, as he was forced to bypass multiple crashes.

Kazakhstan's Sergey Ponomaryov and Malaysia’s Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom crashed, which sent both riders straight to repechages. On the restart of the race four men, including Matthew Richardson, were competing for two direct entries into the quarter-final.

It was then that Hugo Barrette from Canada lost control mid-race and fell centimetres from Richardson’s front wheel, but the Aussie somehow steered his way through without hitting the track.

“It's a horrible feeling that you get as the crash happens in front of you, but it soon turns into the greatest feeling when you get through it,” Richardson said.

“Mixed emotions and obviously happy to come away without a crash."

The heat continued and he finished 0.039 seconds behind second place, but one of the top two riders was relegated after the race which elevated Richardson up and into the quarters.

The 22-year-old on Olympic debutant is backing himself to be better again in the next race.

"I feel confident, my legs are feeling pretty good. Good sleep tonight and a good recovery and we should be out front."

Meanwhile Glaetzer, who finished 10th in the Men’s Keirin at Rio 2016, won a repechage heat to make the cut.

Having withdrawn from the Men’s Team Sprint earlier in the week due to feeling unwell and to prioritise the Men’s Keirin, the 28-year-old is still on the mend.

"I am starting to warm up, that's for sure. Good to get a few races under the belt,” Glaetzer said.

“It's been two years since I've raced individually. Look, I'm a bit rusty but it's coming together now.

“The team sprint completely broke me. I had a really sore back, struggled to breathe and was not feeling good at all. So unfortunately I wasn't well enough to ride the sprint which is a tough call.

"It just made sure I was able to compete well today in the Keirin.”

Tomorrow Matthew Richardson will compete in quarter-final one at 11:24am AEST and Matthew Glaetzer in quarter-final three at 11:34am AEST.

The news wasn’t so great for Kelland O’Brien and Leigh Howard in the Men’s Madison. A fast and furious pace was on from the outset and too much for many, including Australia, as the field whittled down under pressure from the front.

O’Brien and Howard, who are both at their first Olympic Games and won bronze in the Men’s Team Pursuit, did not finish but Kelland considers himself a better rider for the experience.

“I am super proud to be in that field and I've seen now what it takes to be an Olympic gold medallist. It's just fire in the belly for the next Olympics," Kelland said.

"The average speed was just shy of 60km/hour and not one lap was taken on the field, it just shows the level that's here.

“It's the Olympic Madison. It's an event that we have been so passionate about for so long.

"I have an amazing partner in Leigh, we had a solid plan and it didn't seem to pan out today.”

It was the first time since Beijing 2008 that the Madison has featured at an Olympics.

Jeff Dickinson-Fox