Italy enjoyed a memorable weekend at the 2022 UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Quebec City, Canada, leading the medal table with an incredible 23 medals including eight gold. The third and final round of the 2022 series enjoyed some memorable performances ahead of the 2022 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Baie-Comeau, Canada, this week (11-14 August).
Collective effort from Italian athletes
Two of Italy’s gold medals went to Giorgio Farroni (MT1), who scorched around the time trial course on Thursday before claiming road race gold on Saturday.
In both races, Canada’s Nathan Clement finished with silver. Farroni’s victories secured him the overall UCI World Cup crown; in fact, he’s won every race he’s entered this year aside from silver in round one at Ostend, Belgium.
Fellow Italians Simona Canipara (WH1) and Ana Maria Vitelaru (WH5) also both secured the ‘double’, which helped both to overall titles. Fabrizio Cornegliani took the title in the MH1 time trial, while Federico Mestroni led an Italian clean sweep in the MH3 road race with Mirko Testa in second and Paolo Cecchetto in third.
Tandem triumph for Bangma
Elsewhere, The Netherlands’ Tristan Bangma (MB) and pilot Patrick Bos arrived in Quebec City unbeaten this season, having won the road race and time trial in rounds one and two of the 2022 UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup plus European titles in both events. That’s to add to two Paralympic track golds in the 1km time trial and individual pursuit at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, respectively. Now they can add the overall 2022 UCI World Cup title to their palmares after road race and time trial triumphs in Quebec City.
Ireland dominates women’s tandem
Katie-George Dunlevy and guide Eve McCrystal beat their Irish compatriots Josephine Healion and Linda Kelly’s in Friday’s WB time trial, stopping the clock at 38:45mins over the 26.4km course. It was Groundhog Day two days later when Dunlevy and McCrystal repeated their victory.
The result gave the Irish victors the overall UCI World Cup title and continues a successful period: the double gold medallists from Tokyo won the team of the year at the RTE Sports Awards ahead of the likes of rugby-union outfit Leinster and football team Shamrock Rovers. Does more success await at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships this weekend?
French success
France’s Alexandre Leaute won the overall series title in the MC2 category thanks to a successful weekend, winning time trial silver behind Australia’s Darren Hicks before going one better with road race victory, holding off Belgium’s Ewoud Vromant by just 2secs. The 22-year-old Frenchman stormed to UCI World Cup series victory despite not competing in round two in Elzach (Germany). Leaute carried over his form from 2021 where he twice broke the world record en route to Paralympic gold in the individual pursuit.
Countryman Kevin Le Cunff (MC5) started the weekend at the top of the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup rankings, 16 points ahead of Brazil’s Lauro Chaman. By the end of it he was light years ahead after winning both the time trial and road race.
The French trio of Riadh Tarsim, Florian Jouanny and Joseph Fritsch also won the M/WH1-5 mixed team relay ahead of Italy and Spain.
Clincke shines for Belgium
Elsewhere, it was déjà vu in the men’s C4 category as Belgium’s Louis Clincke and Ireland’s Roman Grimes enjoyed a one-two in both the time trial and road race. Thirty-six-year-old Clincke, from East Flanders, covered the 26.4km time trial course, including a stiff uphill, in 37:09mins, 27secs faster than Grimes. Two days later Clincke triumphed over the nine-lap 79.2km course, edging out Grimes by just 1sec in 2:01:32.
Twenty-six-year-old Belgian Maxime Hordies stamped his authority all over the MH1 category with victory at Saturday’s road race complementing silver in Thursday’s time trial. These results gave Hordies the UCI World Cup crown, and he looks in stellar form ahead of the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Baie-Comeau, Canada, this weekend.
Round-up
Further highlights from a packed programme of racing included 47-year-old Ricardo Ten Argiles of Spain beating arch-rival Michael Teuber (GER) in the men’s C1 time trial. He then made it double delight on the Sunday, winning the 61.1km road race in 1:38:35. Team-mate Sergio Garrote Munoz enjoyed a gold-kissed weekend, too, winning the MH2 road race and time trial in sublime fashion, adding to his Olympic time trial success of 2020.
For the US, Kate Brim dominated the WH2 category in both the time trial and the road race, while Dame Sarah Storey (WC5) won time trial gold for Great Britain, but crashed in the road race where Germany’s Kerstin Brachtendorf took gold. Storey took to Twitter to flag up that she’s bruised but fine and is looking ahead to the 2022 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, which take place between 11-14 August.
You can follow all the action live at www.paracyclismebaiecomeau.com.
Brief explanation of para-cycling sport classes
C – Cyclist: conventional bike with adaptations if necessary
T – Tricycle: three-wheeled bike
B – Visually impaired: tandem bicycle ridden with sighted pilot
H – Handbike
Each group is divided into different sport classes (1 to 5), with the lower the number indicating greater impairment.