Report – Gold for Sarah Storey

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Great Britain won a gold and a bronze on the first day of competition at the Para-Cycling Road World Championships, in Greenville, South Carolina

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Report – Gold for Sarah Storey

NOTE: Send your results as well as club, team & event news here

UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships Day 1 – Greenville, South Carolina

A very small team of only four bikes had made the trip to the USA for what is the first major road event at which points for Rio 2016 qualification can be scored. Although a bigger squad would have potentially provided other vital points scoring opportunities, the British team were selected based on gold medal potential and as such only 5 athletes made the grade.

Sarah_Podium

GB’s competitors for the first day of Individual Time Trials were Dame Sarah Storey, returning to Para-Cycling Road competition for the first time since the birth of her daughter 14 months ago, and tandem duo of Corrine Hall piloting Lora Turnham who were defending champions in the Women’s Tandem Time Trial event.

Dame Sarah was the first British rider to take to the start ramp and 2nd competitor off for her classification as her year out of international competition had meant that she was no longer entitled to a seeded position. Being first out on the technical course meant it was tricky to get time checks on her opponents but it enabled her to set a blistering pace that the rest of the field would find hard to match.

Going through the first 5km already 15 seconds ahead of her nearest challenger, Storey continued to power her way round the circuit gaining time with every pedal stroke. With just 3km to go Storey was 38 seconds up and this extended a further 12 seconds by the finish as she demonstrated the strength she has garnished from a successful first year with the Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International team.

Clearly delighted with her win, which now takes her World Championship title total to 17 from Cycling [as well as 6 from her swimming career], Dame Sarah said after the ride, “Having a year out and watching the results from last year’s Road Worlds made me determined to win back my stripes here today.”

“The Road Time Trial has been an event I have paid a lot of attention to this year as I was hoping to make the grade for Team England in Glasgow, but obviously this was a major focus and to win is just brilliant.”

Sarah_TT_Action

“Since London I have had some new Time Trial bars made for me by PACE Rehabilitation and as a result have been able to refine my position and will continue to do this as we approach Rio 2016. Riding this season for Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International has been fantastic and this result just tops off everything we have done.”

Shortly after the National anthem played for Dame Sarah, it was the turn of the tandems to take to the course. With the heat of the day starting to get to some of the pairings the British pair of Corrine Hall and Lora Turnham were always in the hunt for the medals.

New Zealand pair of Emma Foy and Laura Fairweather were fastest by less than a second through the first lap, with the eventual winners from Japan, Yurie Kanuma and Mai Tanaka in second and GB’s Hall and Turnham fractionally ahead of the Irish pair of Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal.

It was the second half of the race where the strength of the Japanese pair really showed though and they were 51 seconds ahead of the New Zealanders with Hall and Turnham taking 3rd, a 1 minute and 25 seconds down.

 

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