Scotsman Neil Fachie, 39, and tandem pilot Matt Rotheringham struck gold twice at the 2022 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (France), in the 1km B time trial and B sprint. The multiple Paralympic gold medallist is champing at the bit to race on home boards, in Glasgow’s Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.
Forty-two-year-old Australian Emily Petricola won the C4 individual pursuit, Scratch and omnium in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. The Paralympic gold medallist is looking for more of the same this year as she too prepares to be part of the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships taking place in Glasgow and across Scotland from 3 to 13 August…
Have you raced in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome before?
Neil Fachie (NF): I first raced there at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and won two golds, which was mad. When the Scottish crowd gets going, it’s wild. It’s the one thing that can really lift your performance to the next level, especially when racing in front of a home crowd. I’ve also raced a few lower-key events and we trained there a few times in the build-up to last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Emily Petricola (EP): I’ve never raced in the UK, let alone Glasgow. The main thing I’ve heard is that it might not be warm outside!
Are there noticeable differences between tracks around the world?
NF: There are, even if they look the same. They’re all 250m but the one in Glasgow has long straights, very tight turns and quite steep banking. It’s good for sprint events, not quite as great for the endurance riders. I like it a lot. Manchester, where I’m based and train, is quite different.
EP: Some are more circular, more oval, longer straights, steeper bends… Others who’ve raced in Glasgow tell me that it’s a similar shape to the one I train on in Melbourne, which is longer straights and tighter bends.
How is your 2023 panning out in the build-up to Glasgow?
NF: I haven’t yet raced in 2023 and have no events planned before Glasgow, which is a bit of a weird one. Training’s going well but you don’t really know how you’re going until the races. You certainly don’t know what the rest of the world are up to.
But my 2023’s been interesting. I became a dad to Fraser in October last year so have been getting to grips with training full-time, fatherhood and a wife who’s back training pretty much full-time. [Neil’s married to multiple Paralympic Women B gold medallist Lora Fachie.] We have to share when we train and when we look after our wee lad. That’s been a challenge and the lack of sleep has taken its toll a bit. But it does make you appreciate that some of the struggles of training aren’t that bad.
EP: It’s been about rebuilding. 2022 was not an awesome year for me physically. I got a back injury and had Covid, too. I struggled through the road and track UCI Worlds but, by then, my body's had enough from an MS [multiple sclerosis] perspective. So I took a solid break. I started building base from the end of the year and am slowly growing stronger.
I came second in the time trial at the recent UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Italy but didn’t do the road race as my MS doesn’t travel well. I’m racing the next round in Belgium (4-7 May) but not Huntsville (26-29 May). I’ll then head home and compete in some local time trials. Unfortunately, I’ve missed the Australian track season.
What was your path to para-cycling?
NF: I’m from near Aberdeen. My mum took me along to sport camps in swimming, fencing… as she wanted me to burn off energy. I found athletics at 10 and loved the simplicity of it. I was a slow developer so pretty much finished last in every race from 12 to 16. But things started to click. I made it to the 2008 Beijing Paralympics as 100m and 200m runner. I didn’t make the final, had my funding cut and thought my sporting career was done. Thankfully, I found cycling and it turns out that was the sport I should have been doing all along! All these sports have helped me, though. I have a visual impairment and lost confidence, but sport was the one place I felt I could be myself. It’s helped me grow as a person.
EP: I grew up in Melbourne and rowed to a good standard between 13 and 21 but then retired. I became ill and wasn’t able to train because of the challenges with MS and core temperature [symptoms can worsen with a rise in core temperature]. I was unwell for the first three or four years and put on a huge amount of weight. I really struggled.
I then spoke to a friend of mine, who’d gone to two Olympics as a rower, and told him about my desire to get fit again. He said he’d love to help. I said no matter how pear-shaped things are with my body, I can always turn my feet over on the pedals of a bike. But I was nervous to ride outside because of MS affecting my arms and hands, so we started on a WattBike. After a few weeks, he said my numbers were strong and I should aim for Tokyo. I did and incredibly won individual pursuit gold, which is the highlight of my career.
Finally, what does a week’s training look like in the build-up to Glasgow?
NF: I train six days a week. Often, I’ll be in the gym in the morning for a couple of hours weightlifting. It’s imperative in sprint to be very strong to get the fixed-gear bike off the line. In the afternoon, it might be the velodrome for two or three hours, doing sprint efforts with rest in-between. Or on a static bike at home. It’s then about recovery, which is a little trickier thanks to Fraser!
EP: Training’s a challenge with MS as it’s degenerative and a neurological condition, so fatigue must be managed carefully. But generally, I’m on the road six days a week. I’ll be on the track two or three times a week when back in Australia in preparation for Glasgow.
Brief explanation of para-cycling sport classes on the track
C – Cycle: conventional bike with adaptations if necessary
B – Tandem: for blind or visually impaired athlete with sighted pilot
Groups C (1-5), is divided into different sport classes, with the lower the number indicating greater impairment.