The 21-year-old became the first British rider to win the elite title when he claimed gold last year in Val di Sole, when competition was part of the Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships.

Carthy made a promising start to his title defence in the competition’s new home, as part of the inaugural Urban Cycling World Championships.

He scored 280 and 290 points during his first two laps of the course at the Xinhua Park in China.

The British cyclist continued to improve, as he scored 300 points on his final lap to end on an overall total of 870 points.

Carthy finished comfortably clear of his closest rival Nicolas Vallee, with the Frenchman ending second in the semi-final on 790 points.

The top three was rounded off by Vallee’s team-mate Vincent Hermance, who managed a total of 770.

Spain’s Abel Mustieles led the 20 inch standings, as he finished the semi-finals of the competition with 720 points.

Mustieles was followed by Switzerland’s Lucien Leiser and Dominik Oswald, who achieved totals of 670 and 660 respectively.

Individual trials final for men and women, including the junior events, are scheduled to conclude tomorrow.

Mountain bike eliminator and BMX Freestyle Park are due to take place over the next two days in China.

The latter was added to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic programme in June.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) hope the Urban World Championships will attract fresh interest in the sport.

Chengdu will host the event in both 2018 and 2019, after agreeing a three-year deal with the governing body.

The city was awarded the event five months after the UCI signed a "ground-breaking" agreement with Wanda Sports to promote cycling in China.