Crystal Lane, James Ball and Craig Maclean added to ParalympicsGB Cycling Team

Crystal Lane, James Ball and Craig Maclean added to ParalympicsGB Cycling Team

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Crystal Lane, James Ball and his pilot Craig Maclean have been added to the cycling team that will represent ParalympicsGB at the Paralympic Games in Rio from the 7-18 September.

The selections come as a result of the decision by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to withdraw membership from the Russian NPC, a decision which was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) yesterday. The dismissal of the Russian NPC case means that competition places originally allocated to Russian athletes have been reallocated to other nations.

Rio 2016 will be the second games for Lane who was also a late addition to the team in London 2012, finishing in fourth place in the individual pursuit on the track and achieving top ten finishes in the time-trial and road race.

Since London, Crystal has focused on track events to great success, winning silver and bronze medals at the 2015 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Holland and adding another bronze medal to her collection in 2016.

Crystal Lane will make her second Paralympic appearance

It will be a first Paralympic Games for Welsh rider James Ball who will team up with pilot Craig Maclean. The riders competed together for the first time at the Manchester Para-cycling International in November 2015. They then won a bronze medal together at the 2016 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Italy.

Maclean competed at London 2012 alongside Anthony Kappes winning gold in the tandem B sprint event, and has also won multiple medals at world championships and the Commonwealth Games. He also won an Olympic silver medal alongside Sir Chris Hoy and Jason Queally at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

ParalympicsGB Cycling team leader, Jon Pett, said: “We are really pleased to be able to add Crystal, James and Craig to our team for the Paralympic Games.

Craig MacLean and James Ball on the tandem at the world championships

“Initial selection for the team was incredibly tough and they were unfortunate to miss out. They’ve all been training hard in the intervening period and we are confident that they have a great opportunity to challenge for a spot on the podium in Rio.”

ParalympicsGB chef de mission, Penny Briscoe added: “All of these athletes have trained incredibly hard over several years to be in contention for a place on the team. I’m delighted that they will join ParalympicsGB in just two weeks’ time.

“They have continued to train in their sport programmes and I am confident they will be ready to show what talented athletes they all are when competition in Rio begins.”