Posted on Monday 7th August, 2023

It was a super day at the Super Worlds for the team’s youngest two Para cyclists Devon Briggs and Ben Westenberg.

Briggs snatches IP bronze

19-year-old Briggs from Cambridge started the day finishing first in the 200m Time Trial with speeds that got him close to a world record. This is not a medal event, but contributes valuable points to the Omnium. Later in the day Briggs built on his success in the bronze final of the Individual Pursuit, taking the medal. Behind for most of the race, the young cyclist clawed back the gap in the final metres of the race, snatching the bronze by just a fifth of a second. A visibly elated Briggs shared:

“I went out there to ride the ride and give it everything. I didn’t know anything about where I was placed until the last lap when (Coach) Damien yelled I was a second down and I just dug deep and managed to pull the second in the lap.”

Briggs, who was born with severe club feet, will proceed to the Road Para cycling races after a rest day. He is looking forward to celebrating with his top supporters – his mum, dad and grandma – at home in Cambridge when it’s all over.

Westenberg wins Scratch silver

Tauranga teen Ben Westenberg showed the C4 cyclists today that he is one to watch out for. Westenberg and teammate Nick Blincoe took a lap on the bunch early in the race, and Westenberg was able to maintain the strong position throughout, to seize silver. Blincoe finished 20th.

18-year-old Westenberg says, “It wasn’t really intentional, but it worked out!”

“It’s my first big international competition, so very different to anything else I’ve ever done. I’ve learned a lot, and… yeah, something to remember. It’s been awesome.”

Westenberg, who has arthrogryposis affecting the joints of his arms, is at Tauranga Boys College.

Paralympians Sarah Ellington and Anna Taylor competed in their 500m Time Trials today in the C2 and C4 classes respectively. Ellington placed 9th, while Taylor narrowly missed the podium with a 4th place finish, just a quarter of a second behind Australia’s Erin Normoyle. Her time of 38.565 was a PB for the Cambridge 31-year-old.

Results

AthleteEventResultSports Class

Day 1

Nicole Murray3Km Individual Pursuit Qualifying2nd (qualified for gold final) +3.325 + PBWC5
Anna Taylor3Km Individual Pursuit Qualifying3rd (qualified for bronze final) +7.713 + PBWC4
Sarah Ellington3Km Individual Pursuit Qualifying5th +22.023WC2
Ben Westenberg4Km Individual Pursuit Qualifying5th +7.016 + PBMC4
Nick Blincoe4Km Individual Pursuit Qualifying22nd +37.730MC4
Devon Briggs3Km Individual Pursuit Qualifying4th (qualified for bronze final) +7.416MC3

Day 2

Nicole Murray500m Time Trial Qualifying3rd +0.998WC5
Ben Westenberg200m FS Time Trial 4th +0.962MC4
Nick Blincoe200m FS Time Trial 7th +1.232MC4
Nicole Murray500m Time Trial Finals Bronze +0.639WC5

Day 3

Sarah Ellington200m FS Time Trial 9thWC2
Devon BriggsKilometre Time Trial Qualifying2nd (qualified for final)MC3
Nick BlincoeKilometre Time Trial Qualifying15th +6.901MC4
Ben WestenbergKilometre Time Trial Qualifying9th +4.833MC4
Devon BriggsKilometre Time Trial Finals Bronze +0.644MC3
Anna Taylor10Km Scratch Final4thWC4

Day 4

Nicole Murray200m FS Time Trial 4thWC5
Nicole Murray3Km Individual Pursuit Finals Silver WC5
Devon Briggs15Km Scratch Finals BronzeMC3

Day 5

Sarah Ellington500m Time Trial Qualifying9thWC2
Devon Briggs200m FS Time Trial1st (non-medal event)MC3
Anna Taylor500m Time Trial Qualifying5th +3.092WC4
Nick Blincoe15Km Scratch Finals20thMC4
Ben Westenberg15Km Scratch Finals SilverMC4
Anna Taylor500m Time Trial Finals4th +2.604WC4
Devon Briggs3Km Individual Finals BronzeMC3

Day 6

Anna Taylor200m FS Time Trial 2nd (non-medal event)WC4
Anna Taylor3Km Individual Pursuit Finals4thWC4
Nicole Murray10Km Scratch Finals4thWC5

Day 7

TBCTeam Sprint Qualifying9thM/WC1-5
Sarah Ellington10Km Scratch Finals8thWC2

Omnium

Ben WestenbergOmnium BronzeC4
Nick BlincoeOmnium11thC4
Devon BriggsOmnium BronzeC3
Anna TaylorOmnium GoldC4
Sarah EllingtonOmnium7thC2
Nicole MurrayOmnium GoldC5

Looking ahead to Day 6

Day 6 will be a busy one for Paralympian #225 Anna Taylor, who will show her speed in the 200 Time Trial early in the day. She will follow that up with the bronze final of the 3km Individual Pursuit later in the day.

Around 7.21am NZST we’ll be treated to Paralympian #222 Nicole Murray’s strategic racing in the 10km Scratch Race. Murray holds the current world title in the Scratch Race.

See the schedule of when the New Zealanders compete. Livestreaming is available for some events, and links to the livestreams are provided on the schedule.

About the World Championships

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


What do the classifications mean in Para cycling?

  • Classification groups Para cyclists with an eligible impairment into sports classes, according to how much their impairment affects their ability to carry out the fundamental activities in their sport.
  • Para athletes who are able to use a standard bicycle (with approved adaptations) compete in the five sport classes C1-5.
  • Sport class C1 is allocated to athletes with the most severe activity limitation. The sport class C5 is allocated to athletes with minimum impairments.
  • The C1-5 sport classes include athletes with limb deficiency, impaired muscle power or range of motion and impairments affecting co-ordination, such as uncoordinated movements and involuntary movements.