Kiwis double their medal haul on Day 3 of Rio 2024

Fresh off his World Record triumph yesterday, Devon Briggs has now clinched the bronze in the thrilling C3 Individual Pursuit at the 2024 Para Cycling Track World Championships.

Meanwhile in the Women’s C5 class, Paralympian #222 Nicole Murray built on her stunning bronze win from day 1. Murray revved up her strength in the C5 Individual Pursuit final, snatching the silver medal.

Their teammate Paralympian #225 Anna Taylor delivered a strong qualifier to reach the Individual Pursuit bronze final, finishing in 4^th place.

Briggs credits a strong gameplan for his success:

“With my coach Damian we set a plan for today’s race. It was go out, get into the ride, relax it, and then push it into the last kilometre. And I managed to bring the race back into my favour in the last four laps. It was really good.”

Coach Damian Wiseman is pleased with how all of today’s races went.

“Great racing today. Great pursuiting from Anna, Nicole and Devon. Devon rode well to PB in qualifying this morning. Then to back up this evening and win his bronze medal ride! He pushed hard to come back in the last few laps and take the win.

“Nicole rode a strong qualifying ride this morning with a smaller gap to French athlete Heidi Gaugain than last year. She began her gold medal ride really well and rode like clockwork through the first three-quarters of the race before she started to feel her legs tie up and the French athlete pushed through to take the win.

“Anna Taylor had a great qualifying ride, cementing herself in the top four of this classification. She started well but wasn’t able to keep ahead of Shaw.”

Wiseman continues:

“The team is definitely on track for what we are hoping to achieve here. We were wanting to ride well in all of our classes in the Paralympic disciplines and so far we have delivered right on expectation. With C3 and C4 kilo to come we will round out those events. This leaves us with some fun events, scratch and elimination races and the team sprint to round out the rest of racing.”

Day 2 also saw C4 athletes Ben Westenberg and Nick Blincoe contest the Men’s C4 Scratch Race, finishing 7^th and 14^th respectively.

Tomorrow morning will see the three men in the team, Briggs, Blincoe and Westenberg, contest the Kilo (a 1000m Time Trial). It’s a race where powerful sprinting is required, and a preferred event of Devon Briggs. And if that wasn’t enough excitement, we will also see Paralympian #225 Anna Taylor bring her tactical nous to bear in the Women’s C4 Scratch Race.

Photos credit Miriam Jeske and Marco Antônio Teixeira, CBC