The sun shone on Clichy-sous-Bois for day three of the para-cycling road programme after the previous day’s torrential rain. And it certainly shone on Great Britain’s Sarah Storey, who won her second gold medal of these Games - the 19th Paralympic title of her career - as she held off France’s Heidi Gaugain to win the women’s C4-5 road race.
Gaugain, at 19 years old – Storey’s junior by 27 years – looked like she was going to become the only rider to beat the Briton in a para-cycling race at the Paralympics when she took the lead with about a kilometre to go. But Storey, using all of her experience, reeled Gaugain in and beat her in a two-up sprint. Colombia’s Paula Andrea Ossa Veloza won bronze.
“I knew Heidi would want to take it to the line as she’s a fast sprinter,” Storey said after the race. She got a little gap – she’s 19 at the end of the day – but I just went for it.
“I knew my strength was holding high power for a long time. And when you’ve done an acceleration like she had, that’s hard for more than a kilometre. I knew that if I kept her within my sights – she was the carrot – and reeled her in, I’d still have a kick for the finish.”
Asked how she felt at winning another gold medal, she replied: “It’s like putting together jigsaws for every Paralympic cycle and every piece is curated back home, driving round in a motorhome, going to different races, so a massive thanks to local organisers who put on the races and put the jigsaw together,” Storey said.
Storey’s 19th Paralympic gold medal comes 32 years after she won two golds, three silvers and a bronze in para-swimming at the 1992 Barcelona Games when just 14 years old. She won five golds in para-swimming before moving to para-cycling where she has now amassed 14 golds.
Will we see her in Los Angeles in four years’ time?
“Who knows? Never say never to anything. I need to enjoy this first.”
There was further success for Great Britain in the Women’s B road race as Sophie Unwin, piloted by Jenny Holl, outsprinted Ireland’s Katie-George Dunlevy and pilot Linda Kelly to gold. Lora Fachie and pilot Corrine Hall celebrated bronze. This was Unwin and Holl’s second gold of the Paris Games after victory in the individual pursuit on the track.
“I just started crying,” said Unwin. “I wanted to come away with four medals but I can't believe we’ve done it.”
“The Irish were always going to be the ones to beat with these hills and they put over a minute-and-a-half into us over two laps in the time trial, so clearly flying,” added Holl. “I’ve been saying all year, like today, it’s an exercise in patience.”
Tristan Bangma and pilot Patrick Bos outsprinted countrymen Vincent ter Schure and pilot Timo Fransen to win the men’s B road race for their third gold of these Games. Ter Schure and Fransen secured a super silver after a mechanical earlier in the race left them over a minute behind the leaders. France’s Alexandre Llovaras and pilot Yoann Paillot won bronze.
“It was a difficult race with two strong French tandems,” said Bangma. “And Vincent and Timo had a flat but they came back strongly. To win three golds is amazing.”
Yehor Dementyev won Ukraine’s first gold medal of the para-cycling road programme in the men’s C4-C5 road race, winning the final sprint. Dementyev held off France’s Kévin le Cunff, who took silver, with the Netherlands’ Martin van de Pol winning bronze.
After day three, the Netherlands top the para-cycling road programme medal table with eight golds, followed by France with six gold medals. Saturday will feature the final day of para-cycling road races of the Paralympic Games Paris 2024.
Para-cycling sport classes
C – Cycle: conventional bike with adaptations if necessary
T – Tricycle: three-wheeled bike
B – Tandem: for visually impaired athletes with sighted pilot
H – Handcycle
Groups C (1-5), T (1-2) and H (1-5) are divided into different sport classes, with the lower the number indicating a higher level of impairment.