Jody Cundy and Sarah Storey set new world records in the 1km time-trial and 3km pursuit on the way to clinching two more gold medals for Great Britain at the 2014 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships, while Jon-Allan Butterworth took silver in the C5 1km time-trial.
Jody Cundy slashed nearly four seconds off the 1.05.144 he set in the C4 1km time-trial in the 2011 world championships in Italy, posting a storming 1.01.466 to take the world title. The Wisbech-born rider was almost four seconds faster than silver medallist Josef Metelka of Slovakia, while Guoping Wai of China was a further five tenths back in bronze.
Cundy, 35, was thrilled with his ride after the bitter disappointment of being disqualified at London 2012 and said this to BBC Sport:
"The last major championships I had in this event was the 20 metres I did in London, so to be crowned world champion now and break the world record feels pretty amazing.
"I've won a lot of titles over the years. It's always good to get the gold medal and the rainbow jersey - that's the most important thing.
"World records can be broken, but it's nice to put one out there that should hopefully stand for quite a few years."
Shortly after his ride, Cundy tweeted a picture of his gold medal and rainbow jersey with the words: "Sometimes a picture says a 1000 words.Thanks to everyone involved to get me back on the top step!"
Sarah Storey held the C5 3km pursuit world record of 3.32.170 from the London 2012 Paralympic Games but shaved almost two tenths off that mark, posting a 3.32.050 in qualifying on the ultra-fast Aguascalientes track.
The 36-year-old’s time was over 12 seconds faster than second placed Anna Harkowska of Poland and so the ride off for gold was a foregone conclusion, Storey achieving the catch within 2km to seal the gold medal. Greta Nemamas of the USA took bronze.
After her ride, Storey spoke to BBC Sport:
"It's been great to get back to the winning form I was enjoying at London 2012 and to go that little bit quicker than London in the morning was just the icing on the cake.
"The figures on the clock are really encouraging, and my target of going under three-and-a-half minutes over 3km should hopefully happen in the near future."
Jon-Allan Butterworth saw his C5 1km time trial record broken five times before he took to the track to try and beat the fastest time of Spain’s Alfonso Cabello, who’d posted a stunning 1.01.683. The Great Britain rider gave it everything to retake his record but stopped the clock at 1.02.986 to take the silver medal, with bronze going to Alastair Donohoe of Australia.
Shaun McKeown was also in action in the C3 1km time trial, posting a time of 1.10.276, eventually good enough for 9th position. Gold went to Russia’s Alexei Obydennov who broke Darren Kenny’s long-standing record of 1.08.668 set in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.
At the end of the session Great Britain para-cycling lead coach Jon Norfolk tweeted: "Another good day at the office in Mexico. A 1.01 Kilo WR for @jodycundy & a 3.32 Pursuit WR for @DameSarahStorey Top notch riding guys...
He added: "Not forgetting @J_Butterworth86 who clocked a 1.02.9 for a silver in the C5 men."
Great Britain's performance on the penultimate day of competition in Mexico brought the medal tally to seven; four golds, one silver and two bronze.
Action concludes with day four, featuring the men’s and women’s tandem B sprint, the team sprint and scratch race events.
Results
Men's C3 1km time-trial
Men's C4 1km time-trial
Men's C5 1km time-trial
Women's C5 3km pursuit qualification
Women's C5 3km pursuit finals
