Italia vs. United States: 1-0. As both countries had shared the handbike relays victories over the World Cup season, their showdown at the Worlds was highly anticipated. The clash between the two para-cycling super powers went in favor of Alex Zanardi & Co. on Thursday at the BMW Performance Centre with only a 39-second difference! The former F1 driver and his teammates Vittorio Podesta and Luca Mazzone claimed gold with a time of 34:12:8 ahead of the Americans (34:52:1) led by veteran Will Groulx. Switzerland, with the experienced Heinz Frei, fought hard with the Belgians before taking the bronze medal. Same as in Baie Comeau (Canada) last year, the Azzurri started the competition with a bang.
The competition will follow today with the time trials in the Men and Women C and B classes, and will continue on Saturday with the remaining classes.
Para-cycling sport classes C - Cyclist: conventional bike with some minor adaptations T - Tricycle: three-wheeled bike B - Blind: tandem H - Handbike Each group is divided into different sport classes depending on the severity of the handicap