The world number one had doubted whether he would even make the first starting gate before a packed Glasgow BMX Centre in Knightswood Park but looked comfortable as he won all three of his runs with ease.

"I could handle the pain from the very first few metres but I'm glad I [now] have 24 hours," André said.

"I will need the body to be at least 95 per cent and then I can win."

French team-mate Romain Mahieu and The Netherlands' Dave van der Burg also dominated their heats but neither was as quick as Great Britain's Kyle Evans, the fastest rider over the course.

"We've got a big crowd here who are all behind us," Evans said.

"We can hear that when we are on the course, and, as racers, we are having good battles and challenges."

In the women's event, Dutch sisters Laura and Merel Smulders both qualified from the same heat as they again look to occupy the top two podium positions at a major event, following the former’s gold and latter’s silver at the World Championships in Baku in June.

"I got in front of Laura twice but she passed me on the last straights anyway," Merel Smulders said.

Laura Smulders, the older of the two sisters at 24, found her best form on race day after admitting to enduring "a little bit of a struggle" in practice yesterday.

"Today I felt right, right away," she said.

"I gave myself a few boxes to tick in practice, it felt perfect and then I went into motos and it felt like a race again."

The chasing pack is being led by Denmark's Simone Tetsche Christensen, the only woman to go under 40 seconds today despite witnessing Germany’s Liam Webster being stretchered off the course following a crash.

"I think we're pretty used to having people crashing in front of us and having to wait, and then it's our turn, so I don't think you can put too much on it," she said.

"You kind of just trust your own skills."

Belgium’s Elke Vanhoof and The Netherlands’ Judy Baauw will also hope to feature among the women's medals when the BMX competition reaches its conclusion tomorrow.