Four days of competition in Ostend, Belgium, saw 159 medals up for grabs in round two of the 2023 UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup. After two days of time trials followed by two days of road races, it was the Dutch team who topped the medals table with 18 medals of which 10 were gold…
Bangma and Bos boss it… again
Leading the Netherlands’ charge was the tandem of Tristan Bangma and pilot Patrick Bos. Clocking up an average of 52.86km/hr over 31.5km, they won the Men B individual time trial in a time of 35:45.273, beating fellow Dutch tandem of Vincent Ter Schure and pilot Timo Fransen by over half a minute.
The 98km road race was a closer affair as they recorded the same time (2:12:43) as Italy’s Federico Andreoli and pilot Luca Chiesa but held the edge to win gold. Ter Schure and Fransen added bronze to their time trial silver. The Bangma - Bos pairing had already dominated proceedings at the first round of the 2023 UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Maniago (Italy) two weeks ago.
At 25 years of age, Bangma is rapidly riding his way into para-cycling folklore. At the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, he won gold in the Men B 1km time trial with pilot Teun Mulder. Five years later, in Tokyo, he was crowned Paralympic Champion on the track - in the individual pursuit - with his current pilot, Bos. The pair also won silver in the Men B road race.
In-between, they won many world medals, on both the track and road, but gold proved elusive. That was until 2022 when the pair cranked things up a notch, winning two gold medals at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Baie-Comeau, Canada, followed by a silver medal in the individual pursuit at the 2022 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. In 2023, they look unstoppable.
What’s the secret of their success? Teamwork, at least when it comes to the road race. “During the time trials, we don’t really communicate as there isn’t enough time, especially on the track. Our task is clear beforehand: simply go as fast as possible,” Bangma told sponsor DHL Express.
“Road races involve more of a strategy: who will break away and will you go with them or not? In that case, the pilot tells me what he sees and we shout to one another. My pilot, Patrick, and I are good friends; we have a lot of fun together and he helps me with everything. We are constantly motivating one another to get everything as right as possible. When all the pieces of a puzzle fit together during a race, this is what we have achieved together.”
Bangma wasn’t the only Dutch athlete to win two gold medals in Ostend as Marieke Van Soest repeated the feat in the WT1 time trial and road race. The other Dutch gold medallists in Ostend were Chantal Haenen (WH5 time trial), Geert Schipper (MH4 time trial), Mitch Valize (MH5 time trial), Jennette Jansen (WH4 road race), Aniek Van Den Aarssen (WC3 road race) and Tim de Vries (MH5 road race).
France and Team GB in the Dutch slipstream
As was the case in round one in Maniago, the French team showed great form, winning 16 medals including eight gold.
Three of those gold went to Florian Jouanny, also an accomplished long-distance triathlete, who won the MH2 time trial and road race as well as the team relay alongside Riadh Tarsim and Loïc Vergnaud.
His team-mate, Alexandre Léauté, also continued his winning streak with victories in the MC2 time trial and road race.
Great Britain sat in third in the medal table with seven gold medals contributing toward an overall tally of 14. Fin Graham (MC3) and Fran Brown (WC1) both won the time trial and road race in their respective classes, with Graham topping an all-Britain podium in the road race ahead of second-placed Ben Watson and bronze medallsist Jaco van Gass, who had pipped Graham to gold in Maniago.
Other highlights from the 2023 UCI Para-cycling World Cup in Ostend included gold and bronze medals for the Irish pairing of Katie-George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly in the WB time trial and road race, respectively; Paula Andrea Ossa Veloza, who won Colombia a memorable gold in the WC5 road race; and Emily Petricola’s double gold for Australia in the WC4 class. Petricola recently told us how she’s coming back from a year marred by injury and illness. After racing only the time trial in Maniago, where she finished 2nd, her pragmatic road to recovery appears to be paying off. She looked in impeccable form in Belgium.
A 💯 Sunday for @emily_petricola 🥇
— AusCyclingTeam (@AusCyclingTeam) May 7, 2023
She adds a second women's C4 🥇 to her week's tally in the road race at the Ostend #ParaWorldCup to finish the team's time in 🇧🇪 on a high.
📸 @UCI_cycling
@AusCyclingAus #AusCyclingTeam pic.twitter.com/VVPaQZG4JF
Following a record participation of 467 athletes from 46 nations in Ostend, the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup will continue with the third and final round in Huntsville, Alabama (USA), from 26 to 29 May.
Full results of the Ostend round can be found on the UCI website.
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.