A chance opening paved the way to Commonwealth Games glory for Cameron Meyer, one of WA’s most-decorated cyclists.

Meyer rode to victory in the time trial on the Gold Coast last year, adding to a long list of wins during his 18 years in the sport.

The 31-year-old said he decided to contest the event just two weeks before the Games.

“The original thought was just to ride the track and possibly the road race, but definitely not the time trial,” he revealed.

“I had really good form and there was a spot in the time trial, so we thought we would put a bike together and see what I could do. It came out really well and that was a really nice surprise for me and something I backed with a lot of pride — it was great to have family there and race in front of Australia.”

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Despite Meyer’s strong background, the dual national time trial champion said he had no expectations going into the race.

“I’ve had some good results in time trialling so it’s always been a natural forte of mine, but I went away from it for a while when I put time into the track or into more climbing,” he said.

“To go back into it and pull off a result like Commonwealth gold was pretty special.

Camera Icon Cameron Meyer with his gold medal. Credit: Getty Images

“I hadn’t done a championship time trial for three or four years, so I didn’t know what to expect — I didn’t know if I would come 20th or if I was capable of winning it.”

Meyer also scored bronze at the men’s points race in the 2018 UCI World Track Championships in the Netherlands.

His eye-catching performances earned him a spot as a finalist in the 2018 The West Australian Sports Star of the Year, with the winner announced at a glittering awards ceremony at Optus Stadium on Thursday night.

Meyer faces stiff competition from a quality field.

Perth Glory W-League superstar Sam Kerr’s reputation as one of the best female soccer players in the world was ratified when she was nominated for the inaugural Ballon d’Or; while Minjee Lee rose to a career-high No.5 in world golf ranks after a stellar year on the LPGA circuit.

Former Perth Lynx sharpshooter Sami Whitcomb captured a WNBA championship with Seattle; Shaun Marsh peeled off three centuries in one-day ranks for Australia; Aran Zalewski was player of the tournament at the Champions Trophy, at which the Kookaburras won gold; and Courtney Bruce cemented her spot as goalkeeper in the Australian Diamonds netball team, became West Coast Fever’s first WA captain and won the club’s MVP award.

Matt Ebden reached a career-high end-of-year ranking of 46 on the men’s ATP Tour; while Aaron Younger was named player of the water polo World Cup in which he captained Australia to a silver medal, the best result they have achieved.

Madison de Rozario won gold medals in the 1500m and women’s marathon at the Commonwealth Games and also triumphed in the London Marathon women’s wheelchair category; Joshua Hicks was a member of the coxless four which won gold at the World Rowing Championships; and Matthew Wearn was ranked No.1 in the world on the laser sailing circuit.