Best result ever for Kiwis as track Para cycling concludes

In Glasgow today, the track Para cycling wrapped up with a total medal count of 10 – New Zealand’s best result by a considerable margin.

Coach Damian Wiseman is thrilled with a best-ever track result at a World Championships:

“To put this campaign in context, the team here has achieved more medals than ever before at a track world champs. It follows on from our success last year – also a best ever with 7 medals. What we have seen here is the bar being lifted a year out from the Paralympics. Everyone’s times have been faster and performances at a higher level than last year and all the Kiwi athletes have risen with this. Numerous world records have tumbled during this competition and our team has had a number of personal best times throughout. It lets us know that we are on track as we head towards Paris 2024 next year.”

Today, we saw Paralympian #213 Sarah Ellington go head-to-head with a packed field in the C1/C2 Scratch Race. She placed 8th.

Wiseman praised the performance:

“It has to be the best scratch race that I have seen Sarah ride. Tactically and strategically she really showed she has stepped up and her physical progress meant that she could deliver on that strategy. She missed being able to go with the other girls with 9 laps to go but really did race an outstanding race.

“She has ridden very strongly over the track competition and is starting to show some of the gains we are making off the bike. The top of her classification is very strong but she has delivered really well over the last week.”

Nicole Murray, Nick Blincoe and Devon Briggs gained valuable Paralympic qualification points in the mixed C1-5 team sprint. They placed a solid 9^th out of 14 nations. With a new combination of riders and with a last-minute change to start order, the team delivered a significant PB time.

Looking ahead to Day 1 of road Para cycling

This evening NZST will see the Para Cycling Team relocate to Dumfries and Galloway in southern Scotland. This is where the road Para cycling events take place. The first three athletes up will be Paralympians Stevo Hills, Rory Mead and Eltje Malzbender. Each competes in the Individual Time Trial.

Mead competes on a handcycle and showed a strong return to competition in May when he won silver and bronze in the Huntsville World Cup. Hills and Malzbender compete on a tricycle. Malzbender is a past road Para cycling world champion.

 

About the World Championships

The UCI Cycling World Championships have been dubbed the ‘Super Worlds’ as they bring together 13 different World Championships in various cycling disciplines into one massive event in Glasgow, Scotland. The Para cyclists compete in track events until Tuesday 8^th August, and then contest road events from Wednesday 9^th August through to Sunday 13^th August.