Between Wednesday 9 and Sunday 13 August, the roads of Dumfries & Galloway and Glasgow will vibrate to the rhythm of the world’s fastest para-cyclists in quest of the rainbow jerseys of UCI World Champion up for grabs in the time trial and road race.
A total of 53 UCI World titles to be awarded
The programme for the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships being organised as part of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships taking place in Glasgow and across Scotland from 3 to 13 August will be a full one. A total of 52 individual titles of UCI World Champion will be awarded in Dumfries & Galloway, with up to 14 finals each day across the men’s and women’s events. On the last day of racing, the action will move to Glasgow where the final para-cycling road title will be awarded: in the Mixed H team relay. The programme will be the following:
Wednesday 9th: Men’s T1-T2 time trial; men’s H1-H5 time trial; women’s T1-T2 time trial; women’s H1-H5 time trial
Thursday 10th: Men’s C1-C5 time trial; men’s B time trial; women’s C1-C5 time trial; women’s B time trial
Friday 11th: Men’s T1-T2 road race; men’s H1-H5 road race; women’s T1-T2 road race; women’s H1-H5 road race
Saturday 12th: Men’s C1-C5 road race; men’s B road race; women’s C1-C5 road race; women’s B road race
Sunday 13th: Mixed H team relay
Para-cycling stars from home and abroad
Which athletes can we expect to shine in the south of Scotland?
The British squad will be full of confidence after strong showings all season: they brought home 43 medals from the three rounds of this year’s UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup. On the women’s side, Dame Sarah Storey will be aiming to add to her incredible haul of UCI World titles won on the track and the road since 2006 in the C5 category.
Also keep an eye out for the pairing of Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl, who won gold in the WB time trial and silver in the road race at last year’s UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Baie-Comeau, Canada. The 30-deep British outfit also includes current UCI World Champions Fin Graham (MC3) and Fran Brown (WC1).
Dutch legend Jetze Plat (MH4) is looking to add two more successes to his 10 para-cycling UCI World titles. Two of those 10 victories came in Canada last year. He won’t have it all his own way, as he faces stiff competition from Austria’s Thomas Fruhwirth – also a long-distance triathlete - and France’s Mathieu Bosredon. In the MB sport class, the Dutch pairing of Tristan Bangma and pilot Patrick Bos, fresh from a three-week altitude camp in Sierra Nevada, will look to retain both time trial and road race titles from 2022.
America’s Samantha Bosco (WC4) heads to Scotland with the intention of repeating her efforts in Baie-Comeau last year where she won gold in both the time trial and road race, while the experienced Jennette Jansen (NED) is intent on similar success. The 55-year-old is aiming to add further gold to her treasure chest, which incredibly began to fill up with a trio of golds at the 1988 Paralympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.
Brief explanation of para-cycling sport classes
C – Cycle: conventional bike with adaptations if necessary
T – Tricycle: three-wheeled bike
B – Tandem: for blind or visually impaired athlete 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 greater impairment.