South African Para-cyclists have finished off the 2013 UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup series with superb performances by securing two gold medals and three World Cup leader jerseys in Matane, Canada at the weekend (23-25 August).
The first gold medal went to reigning World Champion Ernst van Dyk, who nailed first place in the road race sprint finish against his nemesis Alessandro Zanardi (ITA), winner of the time trial two days earlier. The first three riders to cross the finish line after 8 laps and 66.4km of racing, Van Dyk, Zanardi and Jetze Plat (NED), all recorded the same finish time of 01:56:51, with only 4 seconds separating the top 5 riders!
Van Dyk, who races in the H4 category, defeated Zanardi for the first time this season, with Zanardi firmly dominating the previous rounds of the road racing and time trial disciplines.
The second gold medal was awarded to T1 Tricyclist George Rex, who won the Time Trial over the 8,3km course in 17:40.09, 13.08 seconds ahead of Spain’s Aitor Oroza Flores, with Jiri Hindr (CZE) finishing third.
C4 cyclist Roxy Burns retained her World Cup leader jersey that she earned after her first race earlier this season, following a smooth and consistent World Cup series this year. A great achievement for Roxy since her preferred discipline is track cycling.
“This was our best ever World Cup,” said a happy team coach Ricky Kulsen towww.roadtorio.co.za’s Mark Etheridge. “Due to consistently riding in all the events, Roxy won the C4 World Cup overall without winning one single race. This was actually just part of getting her used to riding the road in preparation for the track.
“Our new T1 rider George Rex was a pleasant surprise. He finished fourth in Italy, and then followed it up with second places in Spain, and a win and third place here in Matane. Of course we are also well aware that his main adversary, the French rider, broke his collarbone and did not compete.
“Consistency also gave Justine Asher the overall win in the H2 class.” Asher had to return home early after racing at the Italian leg of the World Cup series when she crashed and broke bones in her foot.
All the team’s attention is now focused on the 2013 World Championships as they settle in at Baie-Comeau in Quebec. Racing starts this Thursday 29 August.
Summary of Results – 2013 Para-cycling Road World Cup Ranking (after 6 events of 6)
Men – H2
1 Walter Ablinger AUT 172
2 Vittorio Podesta ITA 156
3 Heinz Frei SUI 110
5 Stuart McCreadie RSA 74
Men – H4
1 Aessandro Zanardi ITA
2 Ernst van Dyk RSA 136
3 Johan Reekers NED 122
7 Andries Scheepers RSA 42
Men – T1
1 George Rex RSA 140
2 Aitor Oroza Flores ESP 128
3 Quentin Aubague FRA 120
Men – T2
1 David Stone GBR 172
2 Giorgio Farroni ITA 110
3 Hans-Peter Durst GER 108
5 Yusthin Lintnaar RSA 78
9 Goldy Fuchs RSA 38
16 Gerhard Viljoen RSA 10
Women – C4
1 Roxy Burns RSA 126
2 Tetyana Stiajkina UKR 94
3 Marie-Claude Molnar CAN 86
Women – H1
1 Justine Asher RSA 112
2 Cassie Mitchell USA 60
Women – H2
1 Francesca Fenocchio ITA 156
2 Claudia Schuler ITA 126
3 Natalia Yanuto RUS 102
8 Hilary Lewis RSA 52
2013 Para-cycling Team Relay World Cup Ranking (after 3 events of 3)
1 USA 60
2 Italy-1 56
3 France 52
5 South Africa-1 38
15 South Africa-2 8
