High hopes for Avila and Fonte

“My expectations are high, I wish to win in the road race and the time trial”

The 2014 UCI World Cup wrapped up on 27 July in Segovia, Spain with a Spanish pair on top, much to the home crowds delight.

Ignacio Avila and guide Joan Font won the tandem B road race and the time trial and are looking to take that form with them into the upcoming 2014 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships which began on 28 August in Greenville, South Carolina, USA.

A former para-athlete star, Avila won 800m T12 gold at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games before switching his attentions to cycling. Having tasted success at the UCI World Cup, he is now determined to claim a world title.

“My expectations are high,” he said. “I wish to win in the road race and the time trial”.

The pair have been working hard in the lead up to the event, aware that there is an element of expectation due to their recent success in Segovia.

“It is very clear that we have been going for gold. But we must be realistic and at this very high level, it will be difficult,” says Font.

The duo used the World Cup as an opportunity to get a good look at their competitors for August’s competition. Avila believes that the Dutch and other Spanish teams are their main competitors, which motivates the pair even further.

Avila says, “there is a world of difference” in their training between the two events, with a number of high intensity sessions alternated with some rest sessions to give the pair a chance to recover from the World Cup.

This rest is essential, given that only days before the World Cup, Font was in bed with a high fever, making their success all the more impressive.

Both athletes stated that the home crowd atmosphere was the driving force that motivated them onto victory, making the win even more special. They are now hoping for a similar effect in Greenville.

“Let us hope that there are also many people at this World Championship,” Font said.

Despite expectations being high, the experienced duo are determined not to let this burden them in the World Championships, and are looking to bring home two more gold medals from Greenville to add to their ever-growing tally.

For more information on the 2014 UCI World Championships, visit the event website.