News: GB for Paralympics

Paralympics GB has announced the riders who will compete in the Para cycling events at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

News: GB for Paralympics

Paralympics GB has announced the riders who will compete in the Para cycling events at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Fourteen riders from the Great Britain Cycling Team’s Para cycling squad plus six pilot riders have been selected to compete, of whom seven will be making their Paralympic debut. The sport had an outstanding Rio 2016 Paralympic Games winning a total of 21 medals with many of the stars of those Games set to return.

In the women’s events, Dame Sarah Storey will travel to Tokyo to compete in her eighth Paralympic Games and will be looking to defend her titles in the C5 Individual Pursuit, C5 Time Trial and C4-5 Road Race events. Crystal Lane-Wright will also represent ParalympicsGB in the same events.

Dame Sarah Storey said: “It’s a huge honour to receive selection for my eighth Paralympic Games! If I could go back and tell 14-year-old Sarah she’d get to do eight Paralympic Games I don’t know whether I would have believed it! Competing for my country is all I have ever wanted to do since being six years old and watching the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Back then I had no idea the Paralympics existed, so I’m hugely proud to have contributed to such a significant era in Paralympic sport and am incredibly excited to attempt to defend the three gold medals I won in Rio.”

In the women’s B events, Lora Fachie and pilot Corrine Hall will contest their third Paralympic Games together, while Sophie Unwin and pilot Jenny Holl will make their Paralympic debut. Both pairings will take to the start line in the Individual Pursuit and Kilo on the track, before turning their attention to the road where they will compete in the Time Trial and Road Race. Also competing in the women’s B events but focussing purely on the track will be the reigning Paralympic Kilo Champion Helen Scott who will reignite her partnership with Aileen McGlynn with whom she won the silver medal in London 2012. McGlynn and Scott will compete in the Individual Pursuit as well as the Kilo.

Defending Paralympic champion Kadeena Cox completes selection on the women’s side and will compete in the C4-5 500m Time Trial as well as the C1-5 Mixed Team Sprint. Joining Cox in the Mixed Team Sprint will be Jaco van Gass who makes his Paralympic debut in no less than five events in Tokyo. Van Gass will also compete in the C1-3 Kilo, C3 Individual Pursuit, C3 Time Trial and C1-3 Road Race. Jody Cundy makes up the mixed team sprint squad and will also seek to defend his C4-5 Kilo title in what will be the seventh Paralympic Games for the C4 rider.

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Jaco van Gass said: “I’m so happy to be selected for my first Paralympic Games, it’s been a huge target for me for a long time and something I’ve been working hard for. The past 15 months has been difficult for everyone, but I’ve been able to keep my focus throughout and everything is going well in training. I’m aiming to compete in five events which is certainly a challenge, but I know I have a great support team around me and I’m really looking forward to competing in Tokyo.”

Jody Cundy makes up the mixed team sprint squad and will also seek to defend his C4-5 Kilo title in what will be the seventh Paralympic Games for the C4 rider.
In the men’s B events (Tandem), reigning Paralympic champions Steve Bate and pilot Adam Duggleby will be in action in the Individual Pursuit and Time Trial, as well as looking to better their bronze medal from Rio in the Road Race. On the sprint side, Neil Fachie and pilot Matt Rotherham plus James Ball and pilot Lewis Stewart will be competing for victory in the Kilo, with the two pilot riders both making their Paralympic debuts, while also competing in the Individual Pursuit on the basis that all Para cyclists must contest two events.

Fin Graham and Ben Watson will both represent ParalympicsGB for the first time in the men’s C3 category, along with Jaco van Gass, with Graham competing in the C3 Individual Pursuit, C3 Time Trial and C1-3 Road Race while Watson will focus on the two road events. Completing the line-up is George Peasgood who will target the C4 Time Trial and C4-5 Road Race events, having also been selected to represent ParalympicsGB in Para triathlon.

Penny Briscoe, ParalympicsGB Chef de Mission at Tokyo 2020, said: “It’s an honour to invite athletes of such talent and experience to ParalympicsGB. Cycling has been one of our highest achieving sports at recent Games and in Dame Sarah Storey have an athlete who has already achieved so many incredible milestones in her career with potentially more to come at Tokyo 2020.

RIDERS
Women’s B (Tandem)
Lora Fachie piloted by Corrine Hall
Aileen McGlynn piloted by Helen Scott
Sophie Unwin piloted by Jenny Holl

Women’s C4
Kadeena Cox
Women’s C5
Dame Sarah Storey
Crystal Lane-Wright

Men’s B (Tandem)
James Ball piloted by Lewis Stewart
Steve Bate piloted by Adam Duggleby
Neil Fachie piloted by Matt Rotherham

Men’s C3
Fin Graham
Jaco van Gass
Ben Watson

Men’s C4
Jody Cundy
George Peasgood

Good luck to the team – can’t believe some of them were competing at the worlds in Italy back in 2011, my last job for GB (and shortly before I left BC) and working with them was one of the most enjoyable gigs ever – Larry!