The fourth day of the 2024 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Rio de Janeiro saw the Great Britain Cycling Team claim a further three world titles, three silver medals and a bronze to continue to top the medal table with one day of competition remaining.
Jody Cundy proved he was the king of the kilo, claiming his 15th consecutive world title in the C4 1km time-trial. After qualifying second, Cundy brought it back in the final to take the gold medal in 1:04.120, while teammate Archie Atkinson finished in fourth place with a time of 1:06.006.
Speaking on his win, Cundy said:
“It’s pretty cool to have done it again! I was pretty much passed out after the race. I gave it absolutely everything and put it all out on the track. Hopefully today’s performance is still enough to hit it out in Paris. I know it’s not going to be an easy team to make as we have had so many excellent performances here."
“I love the sport and I’ve been in GB sport for 30 years – I’m still here for a reason because I love the competitive side of things and the racing. The Paralympics is the ultimate event you can ride as a GB para-cyclist so to make it to Paris would mean everything.”
The time-trial also rounded off the men’s C4 omnium, with Atkinson finishing in fourth place and Cundy in eighth.
Blaine Hunt defended his title in the men’s C5 1km time-trial, taking the gold medal in 1:03.475, while teammate Will Bjergfelt finished in 20th place.
Hunt said:
“It feels amazing – this is the third one now and each time, it feels more special than the one before because you’ve managed to back up what you’ve done in the previous year and all the hard work. Obviously, there’s a lot of pressure on this race as it’s the last worlds before Paris. To finish on a win going into Paris, I feel like I’m the one to beat, I’m in a good position, and I’ve just got to keep pushing on. The vibes are always good when I’m on the team!”
It was another Great Britain 1-2 podium in the women’s tandem individual pursuit, with Lizzi Jordan and Danni Khan taking their second title of the championships. Jordan and Khan qualified fastest in 3:25.372, with Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl just behind on 3:25.940. The two pairs went into the gold medal final neck-and-neck, but Jordan and Khan showed their dominance with an even faster ride of 3:23.686. Unwin and Holl posted a 3:24.977 to claim another silver medal.
Having taken a second world title in the competition, Jordan said:
“It’s incredible and a bit unexpected! Very exciting to have two world titles now. The qualifying ride was our first ever pursuit together so we went out quite hard and suffered, so for the final, we just wanted to pace it more and see if we could go quicker. It’s exciting to see what we can do.”
Khan added:
“I can’t believe it really – I'm just so proud of us both. We were really happy after the kilo, but the pursuit for me is the blue-ribbon event on the track. To learn from our mistakes in qualifying and put it right in the final to go faster and come away with another world title is surreal. I’m just really proud and over the moon.”
Jaco van Gass and Finlay Graham claimed silver and bronze medals in the men’s C3 1km time-trial after blistering rides. Van Gass clocked 1:06.317 in the final to take the silver, while Graham rounded off the podium in the bronze medal position with a time of 1:07.278.
Steve Bate and pilot Chris Latham gave it their all in the men's B individual pursuit but faced tough opposition from the defending world champions in the Dutch duo to take the silver in 4:02.479. Chris McDonald and Adam Duggleby posted a time of 4:14.247 to finish in fourth place, having made the bronze medal final.
Matt Robertson finished in fourth with a time of 1:12.009 in the men’s C2 1km time-trial to clock a personal record, while teammate Ryan Taylor came home 10th after a commendable ride.
The women’s C4 scratch race saw Kadeena Cox finish in 10th place, having stayed within the chasing group throughout the race and round off the omnium competition in sixth place.
Tomorrow’s final day of competition will see sprints for the women’s and men’s tandems and C1-5 team sprint, while the scratch races will be contested in the women’s C1-2 and C5 classes, and men’s C2, C3 and C5 categories.
You can watch live from 1pm UK time on YouTube and follow results on British Cycling’s social media channels.
Photo Credit SWPix.