UCI Para Road Worlds

[Plawless]

In case people dont know I am currently in Baie Comeau, Quebec at the Road World Championships for Paracycling. One of my athletes moved from Marathon to Handcycling at the end of last year due to injury. He won the National Championship in both RR and TT back in July and was selected to the National Team for Worlds.

The course here is BRUTAL. It is laps of an 11.4km loop with a Mt. Doug hill in it that the TT did 2x and the RR did 4 laps of. Mark came 5th in the TT 1:13 behind the winner and today was riding (in his words) "feeling like King Kong". We planned that he stick with the TT medalists (they finished the TT within 6 seconds of each other then :56 to 4th) and use them to pick up time on the big decents which is where he lost time in the TT.

All was going according to plan (he was sitting nicely in third wheel with about 30" to 4th and 90" to 5-7) when on the decent on the end of lap 3 he dropped his chain. They were doing 78km/h and byteh time he managed to get it back on he was out of the draft. So he gutted it out but was caught on the final descent by 4th who then wouldnt pull at all for the last 3km. No problem for King Kong who sprinted 4th right off his wheel for the Bronze medal. Fricking awesome!!!

[Roland]

I've been watching the results. Lots of Canadians doing well. Too bad I wasn't invited.

[Lister Farrar]

Well done Mark and Peter.. Mt Doug? Six times? With your arms? Then a sprint for 3km? I have to go lie down now...