Cyclists Excel at Open European Championships in Switzerland

Zürich and Neuchâtel in Switzerland saw seven eventful days of cycling at the 2001 Open European Championships from 8 to 15 September. This competition presented the first opportunity after the Paralympics in Sydney last year for athletes from around the world to test their skills and strengths against those of other elite cyclists. Zürich was the venue for the track events, while the road races took place in Neuchâtel.

The contest got off to a slightly disappointing start when the opening ceremony had to be cancelled due to bad weather. The event was further weighed down by the tragic incidents of 11 September. A minute of silence was observed at the medal ceremony in commemoration of the victims of the terror attacks. But especially the athletes from the United States, of course, had found it difficult to come to terms with their shock and to concentrate on the competition.

Nevertheless, the 57 races - not counting the heats, semifinals and finals - proved exceptionally successful in a number of ways. Probably most noteworthy is the fact that no major accidents occurred during any of the races. This is very seldom the case in cycling. The only casualty was a mouse that got run over by the tandem team from Belarus during the third round trial. Other than that, nobody got hurt.

Cycling is one of the most integrated of all sports for athletes with a disability. Apart from some minor adaptations, the races are held in accordance to the official rules of the International Cycling Union (UCI).

The European Championships are an open competition, which welcomes athletes from all nations to participate. In the international division, Australia and the USA dominated the field. Australia tops the nations’ medal tally with eleven gold, five silver and two bronze medals. With regard to Europe, Germany was the most successful team with a total of eight gold, five silver and twelve bronze medals. In the four kilometer men’s tandem pursuit races Spain left no doubt about their superiority by claiming all three medals, gold, silver and bronze. In total, the Iberians collected eight gold, five silver and eight bronze medals. They are thus ranked second after Germany and ahead of France with five gold, five silver and three bronze medals.

A world record was broken, too, namely by Englishman Richard Waddon in the three kilometer pursuit race for his classification category, CP3. The championships for the first time saw the inclusion of handcycling into the official canon of events with a time trial and a road race. In class HC2, the Austrian Hans Meierhofer took gold in both events.

The President of the Organizing Committee, Werner Kuster, noted that he was very pleased with the work of his committee, which after all, had had merely nine months to prepare and stage the European Championships. “I feel good and, as President of the Organization Committee, I look back with great satisfaction on this major event.”