Steve's Profile

Biography

Born in New Zealand, Bate moved to Scotland in adulthood and, after his climbing success, was seeking a new challenge.

Fortunately, he was encouraged to try para-cycling by friend and Great Britain Cycling Team rider Karen Darke and accepted onto British Cycling’s Paralympic Development Programme. In his first year riding with Duggleby, they became British national road and time trial champions as well as winning the Tandem Tour of Holland.

These early results were enough to see the pair selected for the 2015 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships where they finished sixth in the pursuit with a personal best of 4.27.299.

However, it was on the road where they really started to make an impact, finishing on the podium in the road race and the time trial at the first World Cup of the season in Maniago, Italy, in June 2015. They finished the year in fine fashion winning a gold medal in the time-trial at the final World Cup of the year in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa as well as picking up a bronze in the road race.

A golden 2016

With the best year of their career behind them, attention turned to gaining selection for the Paralympic Games in Rio. They began their season with the 2016 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Italy, knocking a huge chunk off their personal best time and just missing out on a medal with a time of 4.16.555.

They were then selected for the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Ostend in May where a bronze in the time-trial was enough to see the pair selected for their first Paralympic Games.

In Rio they dominated the tandem endurance events, setting a new world record in qualifying to win gold in the tandem pursuit on the track, winning gold in the time-trial on the road before rounding off a magnificent 10 days by picking up a bronze medal in the road race.

Steve finished 2016 with a month-long cycling expedition in Patagonia with his friend and fellow Paralympic gold medallist Darke.

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