Great Britain delivered a strong start to the 2024 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships, winning two world titles and two silver medals on day one of the final Paralympic track qualification event in Rio de Janeiro.
The first medal of the night went to married couple Lora and Neil Fachie and their tandem pilots Corrine Hall and Matt Rotherham after qualifying second fastest to Italy. They went on to face them in the gold medal final but couldn’t quite bridge the gap for the win and took second place in the tandem team sprint.
Kadeena Cox showed fantastic form at the start of the Paralympic year, qualifying fastest in the women’s C4 500m time trial. Cox backed up the ride in the final with a 36.675 second ride to defend her world title and make it in a row.
“I’m happy to have defended my title, I haven’t had the best run in. It was good to still come out here and get the win, knowing that I've still got a good few months left before the big one in Paris. I didn’t realise it was thee in a row."
On her third consecutive title: “It's nice to be able to consistency get the win, I feel like it’s so much harder to stay at the top than it is to get to the top so being able to do that three times in a row, even with the girls biting at my heels, it's good times!”
Daphne Schrager showed she was back on winning form after an injury sustained at last year’s world championships, taking the C2 individual pursuit world title. Schrager stormed into the gold medal ride off after qualifying over six seconds faster than her nearest competitor in a time of 3:58.140.
Taking on the defending champion, Switzerland’s Flurina Rigling for the gold medal, Schrager made herself known from the gun, creating an almost two second lead within the first two laps. This was a lead she was able to maintain for the majority of the race and even with the Swiss rider delivering an impressive sprint finish, it was not enough, and Schrager took the C2 individual pursuit world title in a time of 3:57.802.
On her win, Daphne said: “I feel amazing, it’s exactly what I came here to achieve. I didn’t think it would be possible today because I wasn’t on my best form, but I dug deep and got it done and I’m just so overjoyed with the seven months I’ve had, to come back and be world champion again is everything. It’s ever professional’s dream and to do it twice in the few years since I started, is just amazing and will be cherished for the whole year and we'll go again in 2025!
“Everyone is behind you and that’s the great thing about the team. Everyone’s performance matters and they’re all behind you and I think that‘s what spurs you on because you want to do it for the team and set the week off right!”
Amelia Cass made her first track world championships medal final, fighting for the bronze medal against Colombian Daniela Carolina Munevar Florez. Cass had a strong start and delivered a brilliant effort but it just wasn’t to be, and she finished in fourth place.
In the women’s C1 event, Katie Toft started her championships with a consistent ride to take the silver medal in the individual pursuit.
In the men’s C2 individual pursuit Matt Robertson went head-to-head with Japan’s Shota Kawamoto for bronze in the men’s C2 3km after qualifying with a PB of 3:36.878. After a strong start and a gutsy performance it just wasn’t enough to catch Kawamoto’s dominant ride and he finished in fourth place. Ryan Taylor also put in a solid ride to finish sixth, just missing out on qualifying for a medal ride.
Morgan Newberry put in a good ride to finish 10th in the women’s C5 500m time trial. She’ll be back on the boards later in the week for the 3km individual pursuit.
Archie Atkinson and Jody Cundy started their omnium campaigns with the C4 flying 200m. Cundy delivered the fastest ride in 10.474 seconds and Atkinson placed sixth in 11.347 seconds. Both also rode the scratch race qualifier, with Archie qualifying third and Jody just missing out on Friday’s final.
Competition will continue tomorrow with the women’s tandem 1km time trial, women’s C1 and C2 500m time trial, men’s C4 and C5 individual pursuits, women’s C1 and C2 500m time trial and men’s C2 scratch race. You can watch live from 1pm UK time on YouTube and follow results on British Cycling’s social media channels.
