Para-cyclists from Germany and the Netherlands finished in the Top-3 no less than seven times on Monday, the second day of the second round of the 2015 UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Yverdon-les-Bains Switzerland. Team U.S.A. was also a force to be reckoned with, earning five medals including three gold.
German athletes finished at the top of today’s rankings with three gold, two silver, and two bronze; Team the Netherlands snapped up two gold, three silver, and two bronze.
In both Men’s and Women’s racing, Team Germany dominated the T2 Class. Jana Majunke defeated Team USA. rival Jill Walsh by 44 seconds on the 29 kilometre course for women. Lisette De Heide, of the Netherlands, came in third place.
On the same course for men, Germany’s Hans-Peter Durst earned gold and defeated American athlete Ryan Boyle who had to settle for silver; the Czech Republic’s David Vondracek came in for the bronze.
The ambassador of the event in Yverdon, Silke Pan (H4), was yet another German gold medalist in her category, earning special ovation from the crowds. Svetlana Moshkovich (Russia) and Doyeon Lee (South Korea) earned silver and bronze respectively in their category.
In the H5 Class, the Netherlands earned the lion’s share of medals in Men’s and Women’s racing. Jetze Plat, Johan Reekers, and Tim De Vries made it an all-Netherlands men’s podium, while female teammates Laura De Vaan and Jennette Jansen went one-two on the podium with Germany’s Andrea Eskau taking third place.
Team USA’s Alicia Brelsford Dana (H3) and Allison Jones (C2) also each earned gold; Italy’s Francesca Porcellato and Poland’s Renata Kaluza came across the line after Brelsford Dana, while Alyda Norbruis (the Netherlands) and Yvonne Marzinke (Germany) made it to the second and third steps of the podium in their class, C2.
Sunday’s T1 time trial winner, France’s Quentin Aubague continued his winning ways with another gold, this time on the roads of Yverdon-les-Bains, 23 seconds ahead of Russia’s Sergey Semochkin. The Czech Republic’s Jiri Hindr came in for third. Recall that in the first round of the UCI Para-cycling Road world Cup in Maniago, Italy, Aubague also earned himself two gold medals.
In the Men’s H4 Class, Poland’s Rafal Wilk also achieved a second victory in as many days; the time trial World Champion beat France’s Mathieu Bosredon and Austria’s Thomas Fruehwirth.
Team Switzerland was also able to take wins in two races: Heinz Frei thrilled locals with his victory in the H3 Category, while Austria’s Walter Ablinger and Belgium’s Jean-François Deberg came in for silver and bronze, respectively.
Tobias Fankhauser took a page from Frei’s book in the H2 Class, defeating Italy’s Luca Mazzone and Israel’s Yaakov Kobi Lion.
Men’s C3 racing came to an exciting end with a four-rider sprint to the finish, comprising Italy’s Fabio Anobile who was first across the line by a hair, followed by Germany’s Steffan Warias, and Ireland’s Eoghan Clifford.
The only medalist from South Africa on Monday, Nicolas Pieter Du Preez, soloed to a win in the H1 Class, followed by Team Finland’s Teppo Polvi and Poland’s Rafal Mikolajczyk.
In the Women’s T1 Class, Canada’s two-time and current reigning World Champion Shelley Gautier was the fastest, defeating Team Russia’s Yulia Sibagatova and Svetlana Perova.
Finally, in two races that only had two participants each, South Korea’s Mikyoung Jeon (H2) and Team USA’s Jamie Whitmore Cardenas (C3) were both first across the line.
The final day of the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Yverdon-les-Bains on Tuesday will be dedicated to the remaining road races and the team relay on Tuesday.
Results and standings