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UCI World Paracycling Road Championships
August 19-22, 2010; Baie-Comeau, Canada 2010 | Follow the championships live on Twitter
Day 1
The first session of Day 1 of the Paracycling Road World Champs was a great success for the riders in the Great Britain Team with Sarah Storey and David Stone winning their categories. This was followed in the afternoon session with more success as Rachel Morris struck Gold and there was a highly creditable 4th place for World Championship debutant Karen Darke.
David Stone and Sarah Storey in their World Championship jerseys after the morning session on Day 1.
C5 Women's Time Trial - 22.8Km
Sarah Storey was first up for Great Britain on a very pleasant morning in Baie-Comeau. The women faced a tough two laps of the time trial course which included a challenging climb every lap, plus a gradual climb out from the start area. The multi-paralympic champion Storey was the last rider off in the new C5 Women’s class. Previously in other championships, Sarah had been World Champion in the LC1 Women’s class in 2009 so she had all of the riders in her class ahead of her with the British Cycling coaching staff set-up on the course to give her time checks throughout.
The start for Sarah Storey's race.
As Storey rolled down the ramp, she new she would be chasing her 13th World Title in Swimming and Cycling which is quite remarkable! At the first time check, Storey was 5 seconds down on the rapidly improving Harkowska from Poland, so the race was well and truly on for Storey. As she reached the half way mark, the gap had been overturned and she was 11 seconds up on Harkowska, with the Polish rider tiring as the race went into the final lap.
By this point, Storey was extending her lead and catching riders in front of her too and as she raced past the final time check, she was leading by a minute and finishing with an excellent time of 33 mins and 36 secs. Then the big moment for Sarah and the team as it was announced over the public address that Storey had won the World Title for the time trial.
Read more about Sarah's ride in her diary - click here.
British cycling spoke to Sarah after her fine ride "I'm really pleased to have won the Time Trial at the Paracycling Worlds for the second year running. I wanted to pace my ride really well and finish strong. The girls in my class are improving all the time and when Harkowska was 5 seconds up at the first time check, I didn't panic and rode at my pace. It was a really good course, with a good section of climbs with the downhill today slightly tougher with the headwind. The preparation I've had this year has been fantastic and am looking forward to riding in the rainbow jersey for another year!"
Result
1. Sarah STOREY (GBR) 33Mins 36secs
2. Anna HARKOWSKA (POL) 34Mins 38secs
3. Greta NEIMANAS (USA) 35Mins 56secs
T2 Mens Time Trial - 11.4Km
Great Britain's second athlete for the road time trial was our multi trike medallist David Stone. The trikes would race over one lap of the time trial course which was just over 11 kilometres. A tough climb featured on the course plus some twists down from the main climb which would test the skill of the trike riders to their max. The weather continued to be good to the riders in Baie-Comeau and the trikes were the last bikes of the morning session to start the road time trial.
David Stone was looking to move one step higher than the World Champs last year in Italy with gold in the Men’s Time trial. Stone set off at a good pace and at all the time checks, he was ahead of his nearest rival, Farroni of Italy. It's quite a sight seeing the trikes fly round the corners at these champs and for those who have ever ridden a trike, they make it look very easy indeed. Once Stone had crossed the line, it was again announced on the public address that Great Britain had their second gold medal of the day, with David winning by 43 seconds from Farroni of Italy! Fantastic!
British Cycling spoke to David Stone after the finish "I was quite nervous before the start of that race which made me focus on the ride and to try and beat my rivals. I managed to catch my minute man over the final climb which was good but then he was sat on my wheel and trying to come round me, which made things harder for me into the final corners. It means a lot to win the World Time Trial Champs and am now looking forward to the road race!"
Result
1. David STONE (GBR)
2. Giorgio FARRONI (ITA)
3. Helmut WINTERLEITNER (AUT)
H3 Women's Time Trial - 11.4Km (Handcycling)
Karen and Rachel have the full attention of the mechanics and coaches before their races.
Rachel Morris was Great Britain's first rider up in the afternoon session in the H3 Women's class. The time trial course for hand bikes was certainly a tough prospect with the main climb a tough test for the hand bikers. They were due to complete one lap of the 11.4km course with Morris starting last in the H3 category. The classes for handcycling have been changed for this year and certainly gave Morris a fair chance to compete at this level.
Once Rachel had gone down the start ramp, it was quite clear she was going visibly faster than her competitors with a healthy advantage going over the main climb. Morris then came speeding into the finish to record a time which was no less than two minutes quicker than anybody else on the course, an amazing display. Once the judges had looked at their watches it was announced, Rachel Morris of Great Britain was World Champion!
British cycling spoke to Rachel after her dominant ride "I've finally got one of these white Rainbow jerseys - Fantastic! That was certainly one of the hardest handcycling courses I have ever ridden, with the other riders really struggling up the main climb, I flew past quite a few! I then managed to maintain the speed downhill to the finish. I was surprised how big the time gap was at the finish, as you never really know how you will fair against your opposition, so to win by two minutes was great! "
Results
1. Rachel MORRIS (GBR) 23 Mins 34 Secs
2. Sandra GRAF (SUI) 25 Mins 49secs
3. Susan REID (NZL) 28Mins. 45secs
H2 Womens Time Trial - 11.4Km
Karen Darke was making her debut at the World Championships for Great Britain and certainly looked up for the challenge with a strong ride in the Road World Cup earlier in the year and before the race Darke was confident of a good result. The H2 class were also covering 1 lap of the time trial circuit, with Darke starting off first in her class in the time trial.
Darke put in a solid performance for her first major champs and finished a creditable 4th. The hand cycling categories are certainly getting stronger now and this showed with the speeds some of the bikes were covering the course. Next up for Darke will be the Road Race on Saturday.
British Cycling spoke to Karen Darke after the finish "It was a solid performance and I was hoping to get into the top 3, but didn't quite manage it today. I did really enjoy the event and am certainly learning a lot about the sport very quickly! I now have the road race on Saturday".
Results
1 SCHWALLER, Ursula H2 SUI 15:01.91
2 DAVIS, Marianna H2 USA 15:04.43
3 FENOCCHIO, Francesca H2 ITA 17:06.78
4 DARKE, Karen H2 GBR 16:40.14
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