Great Britain tops medal table as 2022 Para Cycling Track World Championships wrap up

The 2022 UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships drew to a close on Sunday, 23 October in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France.

Great Britain finished as the most successful delegation in the competition, collecting 20 world titles, four silver and four bronze medals across four days of racing. The British athletes were followed by hosts France with 17 medals, including six world titles, five silver medals and six bronze.

Roster of legends

Great Britain's roster was packed with high-profile names and when it came time to deliver, they did not disappoint.

Double Paralympic champion Neil Fachie led a British sweep in the MB 1km time trial on the second day of competition and topped the podium again on the final day, in the men's B sprint alongside Matthew Rotherham. This victory marked Facie's 15th world title. 

Another of Great Britain’s most experienced Para cyclists, five-time Paralympic gold medallist Jody Cundy, showed he is still on top of his game at 44 years old as he qualified fastest for the men’s C4 1km time trial in 1:05.676.

Cundy improved on this time in the final, taking gold in 1:04.493 and his 13th world title in this event. 

It was a rockier road for cycling great and fellow 44-year-old Sarah Storey who experienced something rare in her long and illustrious career on the first day of competition in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines – a race without a medal.

Storey was just pipped for a podium spot, finishing fourth in the WC5 500m time trial. But the professional that she is, she dusted herself down and dominated the WC5 3km individual pursuit qualifiers and final the following day.

Great Britain's Katie Toft also enjoyed a memorable victory on that day, winning the WC1 500m time trial in 47.212secs, the sixth time she has won the C1 time trial UCI World title.

World records tumble

British athletes not only dominated the races, but also smashed some world records in the process. 

Jaco Van Gass recorded the fastest time of 1:05.525 in the men’s C3 1km time trial qualifiers, breaking his own world record. The two-time gold medallist from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games out-qualified compatriot Finlay Graham by 2.099secs.

Graham was looking for his third title in France after winning both the C3 scratch race and individual pursuit. Come the final, Graham held the lead with a 1:07.460 and was actually fastest after the first time check. But Van Gass cranked things up to take gold in 1:06.122.

Great Britain celebrated two more world records in the omnium-flying 200m thanks to Toft (WC1) and Blaine Hunt (MC5). 

Hosts France also re-wrote the record books in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines as Marie Patouillet recorded the fastest time in the WC5 omnium–flying 200m start. The 34-year-old powered to a blistering 11.605secs, lowering the previous world record she set in February (11.684secs).

Her teammate Alexandre Leaute also unleashed a record-breaking effort in the men’s C2 omnium–flying 200m start. His 11.212secs bettered Australian Gordon Allan’s 11.973secs record set in April.

Home hero

Leaute has arguably been the best performing French Para cyclist in these UCI World Championships. After smashing the world record in the men’s C2 omnium–200m flying start on the first day of competition, the 22-year-old went on to win gold on Day 2 in the men’s C2 1km time trial.

On the third day, he qualified fastest in the men’s C2 3km individual pursuit in 1:14.922, ahead of the man he beat the day before, Japan’s Shota Kawamoto (1:15.382). Spurred on by the passionate and partisan French crowd, Leaute gradually wore down his Japanese opponent in the final to pass him just before the finish line and claim another title.

To finish off, Leaute won the men’s C2 15km scratch race on the fourth and final day of competition.

Best overall

Meanwhile, Spain's Ricardo Ten finished the World Championships as the most successful Para cyclist overall. He left France with three gold medals and one silver.

But it was not without a fight.

The men’s C1 3km individual pursuit saw USA's Aaron Keith qualify for the final as the fastest rider. The 51-year-old’s 3:48.607 was 2.071secs faster than the time set by Ten, who had beaten the USA rider to gold in Thursday’s men’s C1 scratch race.

It was set to be an enthralling final, and so it was as the Spaniard turned the tables, winning gold by the finest of margins (3:47.625 versus 3:47.885).

Groot's hat-trick

In the women’s C5 500m time trial, the Netherlands’ Caroline Groot made the final as fastest qualifier in 36.596secs.

It was an impressive effort from the 25-year-old, who was aiming to make it a hat-trick of 500m time trial victories after winning in Apeldoorn in 2019 and Milton in 2020, with Covid-19 having forced the cancellation of the 2021 UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships.

Come the final in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Groot was again the only rider to go sub-37secs as she took gold in 36.841secs. Her feat was all the more impressive given that she crashed and received medical attention before restarting for her gold-medal ride.

#forgeorge

In another heartwarming moment, Great Britain's Finlay Graham dedicated his gold in the C3 15km scratch race to his teammate, Paralympic medallist George Peasgood, who suffered a brain injury in a recent training crash.

Graham won gold in the C3 road race at the 2022 UCI Para Cycling Road World Championships in Baie-Comeau, Canada, in August and has carried that form over to the velodrome. After the 23-year-old won the scratch race, he tweeted, "This one is #forgeorge".

Full results from the 2022 UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships are available on the UCI website.