Final day of para-cycling in Tokyo sees Dutch top medal table

The final day of para-cycling at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games saw four gold medals on offer with the Dutch drawing a memorable road meet to a close with a dominant performance in the Men’s B road race. Before then, though, France, Japan and Ireland had unleashed memorable gold-winning performances…

Men’s C4-5 92.4km road race: Revenge for le Cunff

First up was the men’s C4-5 92.4km road race and, similar to previous days on the Fuji International Speedway circuit, the riders were accompanied by incessant rain. But it seemingly had no impact on 33-year-old Kévin le Cunff, who won France’s fifth para-cycling gold of the Games. It helped France close in on a haul of 50 gold medals, well above the 35 Paralympic titles they’d hoped for.

It proved sweet revenge for 33-year-old le Cunff, his 2:14:49 over 20secs clear of Ukranian Yegor Dementyev. Thirty-four-year-old Dementyev denied le Cunff bronze in last week’s individual pursuit on the track. It was a tactical masterclass from the athlete who competed for the able-bodied team St Michel Auber 93 at Continental level between 2017 and 2019. Le Cunff waited patiently before cracking his opponents in the final 2km. The Netherlands’ Daniel Abraham Geru finished third, adding bronze to Monday’s C5 time trial gold.

Women’s C1-3 39.6km road race: Sugiura puts age aside

On Tuesday, 50-year-old Keiko Sugiura made history with victory in the women’s C1-3 time trial, becoming the oldest Japanese Paralympian gold medallist ever. She proved it was no one-off by winning the women’s C1-3 39.6km road race.

Suguira’s winning time of 1:12:55 was 16secs ahead of Sweden’s Anna Beck and Australia’s Paige Greco, the Swede taking silver after a photo finish. China’s Xiaomei Wang recorded the same time as Beck and Greco but missed out on a medal in fourth. Incredibly, the podium was identical to that of the C1-3 time trial.

“When I reached the finish line, I couldn’t believe it,” Suguira said after the race. “It feels amazing that I renewed my record [for oldest Paralympic gold medallist]. Down the tough final stretch, I heard my coach shouting, ‘Go, go’!”

This could very well be Suguira’s farewell at the Paralympics. She nearly retired at a training camp in 2020, telling her coach that she reassesses her life every 10 years and felt that she had to move on to the next chapter of her life. She felt that she’d no longer be competitive on turning 50. Her coach helped Suguira change her mind – a decision comprehensively proved the right one in Tokyo.

Women’s B 92.4km road race: second gold for Irish duo

In the women’s B 92.4km road race, one of the pre-race favourites, Lora Fachie and pilot Corinne Hall, experienced a mechanical early on, losing 2mins. They rallied but never threatened, leaving three pairings to battle for gold: Ireland’s Katie-George Dunlevy and pilot Eve McCrystal, Great Britain’s Sophie Unwin piloted by Jenny Holl, and Sweden’s Louise Jannering and pilot Anna Svärdström . 

It was a tight affair until the Irish pair broke their competition with less than a kilometre to go, claiming gold in 2:35:53. The fight for the other medals went down to a photo finish with the British pair claiming silver and the Swedes bronze, both in a time of 2:36:00.

This was Dunlevy and McCrystal’s second gold of the Games after winning Tuesday’s time trial. They also won silver on the track in the individual pursuit. It means the Irish pair improved on their Rio palmares where they won road race silver and time trial gold. 

Men’s B 118.8km road race: Total domination from the Dutch

The final para-cycling event of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, the men’s B 118.km road race, saw one of the most dominant displays of the track and road calendar as the Netherlands’ Vincent ter Schure, piloted by Timo Fransen, won in a time of 2:58:53. Their victory margin was a significant 5:48mins over compatriots Tristan Bangma and Patrick Bos (3:05:01) in silver. The French pairing of Alexandre Lloveras and Corentin Ermenault took bronze in 3:06:14.

The Dutch pairing had stormed to time trial gold on Tuesday and carried that form over to the road race, taking the lead from the start before extending it in metronomic fashion. By the halfway stage, the race was as good as over thanks to a lead of nearly 7mins. The result ensured they retained their road race title from Rio where they also took silver medals in the time trial and the 4000m track individual pursuit.

At 41 years old, ter Schure seems to be getting better and better. His secret? The pair’s attention to detail, as revealed by Fransen. “Speed is a result of many factors – training, materials, position and aerodynamics. Good equipment is ‘free’ profit,” the 34-year-old said recently. “A tandem doesn’t necessarily go twice as fast – in terms of aerodynamics, there is some loss through drag. You also have the disadvantage of the wind and you are heavier. Timo and I are pioneers when it comes to development. We test special helmets, tyres and shoes. We are constantly optimising where we can.”

The result ensured the Dutch team topped the road para-cycling medals table with seven gold, two silver and three bronze. Great Britain were next with four gold medals, five silver and one bronze. Germany finished third with three gold, four silver and four bronze. 

Great Britain had topped the track leaderboard with six golds, six silver and two bronze ahead of Australia and France.

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.