Success for GB in Columbia
Update posted November 30
Source: Chris Furber; National Coach, Disabled Squad
The city of Cali in Columbia is the setting for the first ever Pan-American ParaCycling Championships. The Great Britain team has come here as it is the very last event in which qualification points can be gathered for places at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games. The GB team's role is simple, gather as many points as possible from the competition which will see the riders competing four days on the track and three days on the road.
ROAD EVENTS
After a well earned rest yesterday and having said goodbye to the Track riders along with Helen Mortimer and Alec Jaffery from the staffing team, it was back into race action today with the Individual Time Trial. The Time Trial and Road Race course is in the town of Palmira which is about a 40 minute drive from our hotel in Cali. The course is short at 7.7km long but very flat and fast.
It was an early start for us and the team headed off still in search of the much needed Qualification points for Beijing. There were three bikes in action today and first off was newly crown Double World Champion Rachel Morris in the Handcycle B category. Rachel is a fairly new rider to our squad but she has been a valuable asset this year and the highlight was her double gold in Bordeaux in September.
In the Time Trial event, Rachel's category was combined with the lesser disabled C category and with current C World Champion Andrea Eskau of Germany present it would be very difficult for Rachel to pick up the Gold here. Andrea is able to ride in a kneeling position which makes her faster particularly if the course has hills. A highly motivated and determined Rachel sprinted away from the start ramp for her one lap trying to gauge the effort perfectly to get it all out in what we calculated would be a 15 minute effort.
Andrea Eskau came in with a time of 14.20 and we had all eyes on the clock to see how close Rachel could get. As she rounded the final bend it was clear to see she was on a flyer but we could not believe our eyes when she rolled in just 4 seconds down on Andrea with a time of 14.24. A quite awesome performance that is hard to describe in words if you have never seen the difference in ability between the two classes.
Rachel was delighted with the performance which means she is now a major contender for Gold in Beijing. A silver medal today but a gold medal performance - 45 more points!
Next off for Team GB was the ever reliable Darren Kenny in the CP3 category. Darren went off last as the top ranked rider in this field and the first lap split showed a healthy 30 second lead. On the second lap Darren began to struggle and as he watched his SRM box he could see that his power was dropping off.
Unbeknown to Darren he had a slow puncture in his rear tub which was causing the problem and he wrestled the bike to line trying desperately to hang onto his lead. Darren crossed the line 28 seconds up on Canadian Jean Quevillon in a time of 22.35. Win number three for Darren here in Columbia and his personal points tally goes up to 135 from this Pan-Am Championship Event.
The last bike to take to the course for Team GB today was the tandem pairing of Mel Easter and Pilot Fran Newstead. Mel is recovering well from her back injury and was eager to do a good ride having finished just out of the medals in this event at the World Championships in Bordeaux when riding with Bex Rimmington. Second last off they would be chased by only the Italian pairing.
Half distance and the splits showed the American tandem in the lead and the Italians in second with the Brits in third. Work to be done. At the finish line it was clear that the Americans had a problem as they coasted delicately around the final bend with a front puncture. Almost a minute passed and the Brits crossed the line. Too close to call on my watch but the official timing showed Mel and Fran 0.5 seconds up on the Americans, so only the Italian pairing could knock then out of the Hot Seat.
The Italians were 6 seconds up at half way so it would be close but with the strength of former National TT Champion Giovanna Troldi in the cockpit the Italians came home for the win, 20 seconds up on Mel and Fran. Second place, Silver medal and 39 qualification points.
Road Races
After a good showing in the TT, it was clear to us all that this flatter course was suiting Rachel Morris very well and that point hadn't been missed by World Champion Andrea Eskau who seemed overly eager to chat to Rachel as they rolled around before the start of their road race. The Hand Cycles had 4 laps of the course and we knew that it would be an interesting race as the long, flat straight sections suited Rachel but she was no match for Andrea through the last few corners before the finish.
That was the story of the race. Rachel attacked on the straights, Andrea countered through the corners, cat and mouse for three and a half laps with neither rider looking like they could take the advantage. As it was, the final few corners would be Rachel's undoing and Andrea "kicked" hard into the last kilometre and eventually won by 20 seconds. Another second place for Rachel but perhaps most importantly a warning shot across the bows to the other girls of just how strong she is in a straight line.
Darren Kenny came into the race to gain the experience of riding in the combined class with the LC3 and LC4 men. These same classes will be combined in Beijing which should make for an excellent Road Race. Darren's race today was the story of 2 crashes. Firstly, he hit a stray dog at half race distance but recovered quickly ("I've never got up so fast from a crash" said Kenny after the event) and chased back into the leading group.
Kenny looked comfortable with one lap to go and he knew who he was recovering as the outstanding talent was Victor Hugo from Venezuela in the LC3 category (having one leg is clearly a disadvantage in most cases but it helps Hugo to corner at amazing speeds). As they lined up down the left hand side of the road, Darren and Victor were in the best place and it would be a drag race to the finish after the bend but a delusional Chinese rider had other ideas as he went for a death or glory move down the right hand side of the road into the corner.
Needless-to-say he didn’t make it and in the process he felled both Darren and Victor. A second Chinese rider won the race and Darren and Victor limped in after the main bunch. Darren picked up the win for his category but it could have been so much more. Four wins from four races for Darren out here in Cali and tremendous performance from a very professional bike rider.
Last Road Race was the Tandems, Men and Women on course at the same time and it's always a sight to behold. Once again Mel Easter and Pilot Fran Newstead in action for Team GB and they had 9 laps to race. The race was cagey early on and the British pairing were active at the front trying to find out who wanted to work and who didn't.
On the 4th lap, as the pack came to the feed, they are nowhere to be seen and 90 seconds passes before they come into view. They have a front puncture and the Americans are attacking. Quick change and they are back in but have 2 minutes to find to get back into the bunch. Next time round, the Americans are off the front by 90 seconds and Mel and Fran are off the back but now only by 60 seconds. They have found a breakaway group of Men's tandems and have dropped onto them for a tow.
End of lap 7 and the Americans are out to four minutes but the Brits are back in the group. The remaining tandems look cagey, unwilling to chase the Americans and only the Brits want to try. One lap to go and the Americans have it in the bag and the bunch are all watching each other for the sprint.
Mel and Fran aren't interested in sprinting and they try everything to get away from the others but it's too negative for anything to come off. The Americans win and the Italians take the bunch sprint for second ahead of the Chinese. Mel and Fran finish 5th but then get relegated to last place by the commissaires for using the Men to tow them back into contention. A disappointing end to a great week for the team but you can't win then all and punctures are part of bike racing.
Overall a fantastic performance from the whole team picking up a massive 444 points and securing the places for Beijing that we came to get. Racing over for 2007. Job done, Merry Christmas.
Day 2
This was a pretty quiet day for the Great Britain team with only new rider Zara Whiteley in action in the LC2 (riders with lower limb disabilities) in the 500m Time Trial. It's been a baptisme of fire or Zara who only started riding the boards in Manchester five weeks ago but with so little international competition on the circuit, most riders tend to make GB debuts in big events and it was no exception for Zara.
The womens 500m TT classes are dominated by Chinese riders who have really worked hard on this event. In LC1 Ju Fang Zhou won the event in a quite staggering 36.3!
In the LC2 class, GB’s Zara was to be up against one German and three Chinese girls. Very nervous going into her race, Zara found herself going first off and after a slightly shaky start from the gate, she got into her rhythm well and just dipped below 50 seconds to post a PB time of 49.112. The German rider was second off and she could not beat Zara's time so 4th place was guaranteed and that was how it turned out as the three Chinese riders all finished within a second of each other. The winner was Jing Ping Dong in 42.0. Importantly for GB though, the 4th place for Zara and another 27 points towards Beijing Paralympics.
Day 3
This day saw the big guns for GB come out again as Darren Kenny raced in the Kilo TT, one of the event where he holds the World Title, Paralympic Title and World Record. Aileen McGlynn and Ellen Hunter were also in action in the Tandem Pursuit but there was disappointment in the camp as new rider Mel Easter had to pull out of the tandem pursuit due to a back injury picked up during training. She is recovering well and we hopes she will be back in action with pilot Fran Newstead in time for the Time Trial and Road Race later in the week.
The track here in Cali has looked very fast all week particularly for the shorter events where the thin air is not such a problem. Darren (above) has looked in great form and his aim was clear, win and knock as much off his own World Record as possible. Once again it proved to be a tale of one man racing the clock as none of the other CP3 riders could get close to Darren's PB.
Darren was last man off and his only real concern was not to go out too hard in the opening 2 laps. Controlling the effort brilliantly Darren was on course and with a lap to go, he was actually 0.1 down on the WR split but on the last lap he fired up the afterburners and never slowed.
Darren hit the line to record an outstanding 1.12.160, nearly a second faster than his world record but once again the time does not stand as the Velodrome here in Cali has yet to be ratified by the UCI. Nevertheless, a pretty awesome performance for the outspoken Kenny, his 22nd win this year, and another 45 points in the bag for team GB. Two days off now for Darren before Time Trial action on Friday.
Next up in the morning was Tandem Pursuit Qualifying for the women and that meant another outing for the newly crowd World Champions in this discipline from Team GB. Having already bagged the Tandem Kilo Gold in a WR time, the GB pairing of McGlynn and Hunter where keen to show that their awesome performance at the World Championships in Bordeaux in September was no fluke.
Last off in qualifying, McGlynn and Hunter had to post a respectable 3.46 to make the final with the New Zeland tandem currently in the hot seat on a 3.44 (a good PB for them). The strength of the GB pairing was always going to be in the opening kilo and getting the tandem up to speed.
If you can ride a 1.09 kilo flat out then you can cruise to the required 1.14 kilo for the opening of the pursuit. And the opening Kilo for the GB pairing was exactly that, backed up by a beautifully judged 1.13 second and third kilos, the GB pairing came home fastest qualifiers in 3.40.9 nearly 4 seconds up on the Kiwis who would be their opponents in the final. The battle for bronze would be between the Italians and the Americans.
The final was late in the day and a couple of issues with the start gates during the day had put the schedule back meaning that the last event was due to start at 5.30pm. As with the first day of competition, the wind was again beginning to pick up and blow through the velodrome. McGlynn and Hunter began their warm up and the mechanics Alec Jaffery and James Lowton prepared the bike having a spoked front wheel available should the wind be too strong for running double discs.
With the warm up over, the pair watched as the Americans and Italians took to the line for the Bronze ride off, both having opted to change from front discs to Spokes. The Italians ran out on top but the time was well down from qualifying. And so to the final and Ellen bravely opted to stay on the front disc as they took to the line.
Top step of the podium for the British pairing of Aileen McGlynn and Ellen Hunter.
The pairing were hampered on the start by yet another poor piece of holding by the commissaire, a problem that continues to plague tandem events on the track, however they soon got into the rhythm and were actually quicker through the opening kilo than in qualifying with a short 1.13. With the Kiwi Tandem now in sight at the end of the straight the GB tandem held firm for a solid second kilo of 1.14. It was clear that the race was over, they simply were too strong today, and they eased home over the final kilometre for a 3.45 winning easily.
Gold number 2, GB second in the medals table with less than half the normal team and yet another 45 qualification points. This marks the end of the year for Aileen McGlynn and Ellen Hunter who have remained unbeaten on the track winning the Australian Nationals Kilo and Sprint, Visa World Cup Kilo and Sprint, World Champs Kilo and Pursuit and now double gold here in Columbia, what a great year before the Paralympics in Beijing next year.
No action on the track for GB tomorrow then the rest day before the Time trial and Road Races begin in the nearby town of Palmires. Rachel Morris, Darren Kenny and the Tandem Pairing for Mel Easter and Fran Newstead will be in action.
Day 1 Competition
After three days of training at the venue, the racing began today on the newly resurfaced velodrome that has been used in the past for UCI World Track Cup competitions. First in action was Paralympic and Multi World Champion Darren Kenny in the Men's CP3 3000 metre Individual Pursuit. Going off in the last heat as current World Champion, Darren had the luxury of knowing that a simple time of just over 4 minutes would easily put him in the final, but ever the showman, Kenny ripped around the boards to post a staggering 3.43.9 - a full 20 seconds ahead of his closest rival and just 1.3 seconds off his world record time.
Pleased with the morning ride, and having recovered nicely with a rest and rub, Darren then had the task of beating Canadian Jean Quevillon in the afternoon final. Darren decided that he would ride the World Record pace in the final to see if he could better the time he set in 2005 but it would be difficult as there would almost certainly be a "catch" to contend with and the wind was beginning to whistle down the home straight of the open air velodrome as the afternoon sun began to set.
Darren went off with slightly more caution than the morning ride, keen not to feel the effects of Cali's thin air too early in the race. The catch happened on lap 6 and Darren was on for the record but was beginning to struggle against the home straight head wind. With 2 laps to go the record was still on and Darren dug deep into his reserves. It was not to be on this occasion as Darren finished in 3.43.3 just 0.9 seconds off the record. Job done and 45 points in the bag towards Beijing.
Second on the track for Great Britian were experienced tandem pairing Aileen McGlynn and pilot Ellen Hunter in the Kilometre Time Trial. The event had a class field with only the Australian Tandem who finished second to McGlynn and Hunter at the World Champs in Bordeaux earlier this year missing. There was a very welcome return to competition for American Karissa Whitsell, Paralympic Tandem Pursuit Champion and World Record Holder.
As World Champions, McGlynn and Hunter were off last and they sat and watched eight other tandems come and go, some of which really struggled to keep the tandem down in the tight bankings of the Cali Track. As the Brits took to the start line, the German Tandem of Fuchs and Jhon were in the hot seat having posted a time of 1.14.6 with the American pairing less than a tenth behind.
McGlynn and Hunter started strongly and were quickly up to a very impressive speed and as they hit the 500m point there was an audible gasp from the crowd as the scoreboard showed that they were over 2 seconds up on the Germans with a time of 37.2. Hunter continued to pilot the tandem brilliantly around the black line of the tight track and McGlynn kept the power down all the way to the line.
They stopped the clock at 1.09.928! Not only had they won by 4.6 seconds but they had become the first female tandem ever to break the magical 1.10 barrier, something they have been working so hard to do for sometime, a quite incredible ride! Unfortunately the time would not stand as a world record as the new track here has yet to be ratified by the UCI but another ceiling has been broken by the Great Britain pairing and you can be sure there is still more to come. Another 45 more points for the win -- Beijing here we come!
Team GB Head for Columbia
Yesterday, says Chris Furber talking about the flight to Columbia, was a very long day. We left the hotel at Heathrow airport at 6 am and finally made it to bed in our new Columbian home at 1.30am (6.30am UK time). The flights were both pretty good but we didn't very much like Miami airport where the locals did everything to be as unhelpful as possible, including incarcerating the unassuming mechanic Alec Jaffery for a couple of hours before an interview revealed what a good bloke he is and they let him pass!
Getting off the plane, we were greeted by 1,995 of the 2,000 volunteers from this event, all very enthusiastic, all under 15! Journey over, we got to the team's hotel which is very nice and we settled in well. Rachel Morris, hand cycle athlete, got lucky and was put in the master suite as it's the only room they have with a door wide enough for her bike!
On the morning of the next day, the bikes were assembled and we made our way to the track, equipped with an armed motorbike escort. The track here in Columbia is very nice indeed. It has been newly resurfaced and also has a brand new roof. One of the attached pictures shows the back straight looking down to the giant scoreboard beyond which you can see the coliseum and still further in the background, the mountains.
Tandem sprinters please note the height of the inner rail (about 12 inches) which protects the wayward rider from the 5 foot drop into the track centre! Although it is slightly different around the banking, I have reservations as to whether a sheet of thick polythene held up by wooden posts is adequate to stop 200 kilos of tandem doing 60kph!?. It really is in an awesome setting and all the riders were smiling when they left the track after our first session.
Above: One of about 50 beetles that patrol the track infield - sorry it's not a great pic, I was shaking with nerves as I took it. (apologies for the previous caption to this image which caused offence to a reader - this was unintentional and we're happy to apologise for the error).
TEAM GB IN COLUMBIA
Darren Kenny
Ellen Hunter (pilot)
Aileen McGlynn
Fran Newstead (pilot)
Mel Easter
Rachel Morris (handcycle)
Zara Whiteley
STAFFChris Furber
Alex Jaffrey
James Lowton
Amy Harmsworth
