Sport Week: Five cycling storylines for Rio 2016

With the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games fast approaching, here are five cycling potential storylines to follow.

Can Sarah Storey win her 23rd Paralympic medal?

Great Britain’s most decorated female Paralympian will be competing at her seventh Games. As a swimmer, the 38-year-old claimed five gold, eight silver and three bronze Paralympic medals between 1992 and 2004. Storey then switched to cycling and won six more golds. She is widely expected to shine in Rio again considering her dominance in the C5 class.

Israel Hilario Rimas hoping to seal Peru’s first Paralympic medal in 12 years

The 41-year-old will be his country’s main medal hope at Rio 2016, after winning the C2 road race at the 2015 UCI Para cycling Road World Championships and two golds at World Cup events. Peru has not won a Paralympic medal since Athens 2004, when swimmer Jaime Eulert took bronze in both the men’s 50m backstroke S3 and the 50m freestyle S3.

Can anyone beat Emma Foy and Laura Thompson in the 3km pursuit?

New Zealand’s Foy took up cycling only three years ago but is already a triple-world champion in the women’s 3km pursuit as part of a tandem pairing with sighted pilot Laura Thompson. The latter competed at London 2012, claiming one gold, one silver and one bronze medal as a sighted pilot for Phillipa Gray.

Great Britain seek to top the cycling podium again

After leading the London 2012 cycling medals table, Great Britain is hoping to repeat such success in Rio. There are few doubts they can, considering their 15-strong team includes Sarah Storey, three-time Paralympic champion David Stone, five-time Paralympian Jody Cundy and London 2012 gold medallist Neil Fachie.

Kieran Modra targets sixth Paralympic gold

The Australian, a former Paralympic athlete and swimmer, first competed in cycling at a Paralympic Games, in Atlanta, in 1996. Since then, he has won five golds and two bronzes. The 44-year-old announced his retirement after London 2012 but has returned to the track hoping to win more Paralympic medals in Rio.

Editor’s note: Each sport on the Rio 2016 Paralympic programme will have a dedicated week of featured content published on paralympic.org. Every week a new sport will be featured and the series will run until September’s Games, helping the public understand more about the 22 sports being contested in Rio.

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Sport fans from around the world can now buy their Paralympic tickets for Rio 2016 from authorised ticket resellers (ATRs)

The IPC’s Global ATR is Jet Set Sports, and Rio 2016 tickets and packages can be purchased on the CoSport website.

Residents of Brazil can buy 2016 Paralympics tickets directly from the Rio 2016 website.

Visa International is the exclusive payment card and the official payment system for the Paralympic Games.