The Picard had achieved 4 min 7 sec 593 during the Berlin Worlds in 2020.
Ermenault set the fastest qualifying time for the individual pursuit tournament in Glasgow, more than two seconds ahead of Germany's Nicolas Heinrich.
European champion in the individual pursuit in 2016, ahead of the Italian Filippo Ganna, then in 2019, Ermenault took part in the last Paralympic Games as a pilot.
He had won gold in the time trial on the road with Alexandre Lloveras.
Thursday, the son of the 1996 Olympic champion, Philippe Ermenault, celebrated his return to the French team with a victory in the team event with Thomas Denis, Eddy Le Huitouze and Benjamin Thomas.
The world record for 4 kilometers from a standing start, the distance of the pursuit, is held by the American Ashton Lambie in 3 min 59 sec 930, a time achieved at altitude, at the Mexican velodrome in Aguascalientes, on August 18, 2021.
© 2022 AFP