Australia rode to 13 time trial and road race gold medals on home soil in the biggest event so far in this Paralympic year.
Australia stole the show at round one of the 2024 UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup, winning 26 medals of which 13 were gold. It was just the second time a round of the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup was held in Australia.
SUCCESS STARTS IN THE RELAY
The gold rush began on day one (Saturday 13 January) as the trio of Alexander Welsh, Grant Allen and Lauren Parker stormed around Adelaide’s city centre to take victory in the handcycling mixed relay. The crowds came out to cheer on their local heroes as they beat the USA and Italy into second and third place, respectively, over the nine laps of the 1.35km course, along the same roads as the Tour Down Under’s criterium circuit.
SEXTET OF INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL GOLDS
After a rest day on Sunday, the competition resumed on Monday with 26 gold medals up for grabs in the time trial. Racing took place at Bend Motorsport Park, 100km south-east of Adelaide, over between one and three laps of the 7.8km circuit.
Continuing their winning ways, Australia rode to glory in six time trials thanks to a sterling effort from the female para-cyclists who claimed five of the victories.
Paralympic gold medallists Paige Greco (C3) and Emily Petricola (C4) took the honours, as did Kaitlyn Schurmann (C1), Lauren Parker (H3) and Alana Forster (C5). Forster, in particular, looked in dominant form as she clocked an impressive 31:28mins over the 23.4km parcours at an average speed of nearly 47km/hr. Her efforts put her over 30secs ahead of New Zealand’s Nicole Murray with Germany’s Kerstin Brachtendorf a further 3secs back.
Forster used to train and race alongside UCI Women’s WorldTour athletes until an accident in 2022 saw her transfer to para-cycling. She has already enjoyed significant success, including two medals at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships held in Glasgow and across Scotland last August: gold on the track in the Scratch and silver on the road in the individual time trial. She has the goal of performing at her first Paralympic Games in Paris, France, later this year.
FURTHER ROAD RACE GLORY
Darren Hicks is another Paralympic hopeful and would appear to be on track. As well as time trial gold – which he also won at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo – he took victory in the men’s C2 road race a day later. The 39-year-old looked in control as he beat Japan’s Shota Kawamoto and Spain’s Luis Javier Arcega Castillio into second and third, respectively.
“It’s been a dream of mine to win solo at a road UCI World Cup or World Championships,” Hicks said after the race. “It was great to have the confidence to back yourself, to go solo, and hold off a group of guys who are trying to chase you down. As for the time trial, I hit my numbers almost exactly. It was fast, the conditions were great.” Hicks made the most of his local knowledge as he lives in Adelaide.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Australia won further road race gold medals thanks to Greco, Petricola, Schurmann, Alistair Donohoe (C5) and Parker, who won her third gold of the event. The number of 13 medals definitely wasn’t unlucky for Australia.
STRONG SHOWING FROM ITALY
The home-nation athletes weren’t the only ones writing the script, of course. Italy nestled second in the nation’s final rankings with 21 medals including nine gold. Fabrizio Cornegliani (H1), Luca Mazzone (H2) and Ana Maria Vitelaru (H5) won two medals apiece, while Martino Pini (H3), Marianna Agostini and pilot Alice Gasparini (B), and Giulia Ruffato (H4) won gold medals in the road race.
Switzerland finished third in the medal table with eight medals, half of which were gold with two apiece coming from Celine Van Till (T2) and Flurina Rigling (C2), ambassador for the UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships taking place in Zurich, Switzerland, in September.
Confirming their continuing form, the Dutch pairing of Tristan Bangma and Patrick Bos took gold in both the time trial and road race, winning both events by over a minute. They look as unbeatable in 2024 as they were in 2023, where they won track and road gold at the UCI Cycling World Championships. It will be a tandem to beat at the Paralympics in Paris.
Before then, the athletes will meet again at rounds two and three of the 2024 UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup, which take place in Europe 2-5 then 16-19 May. The exact locations are yet to be confirmed.
Para-cycling sport classes
C – Cycle: conventional bike with adaptations if necessary
T – Tricycle: three-wheeled bike
B – Tandem: for visually impaired athletes with sighted pilot
H – Handcycle
Groups C (1-5), T (1-2) and H (1-5) are divided into different sport classes, with the lower the number indicating a higher level of impairment.