Sarah Storey has got Great Britain off to a flying start at the UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Los Angeles by winning gold in the C5 500m time trial.
The multiple Paralympic gold medalist, who helped Great Britain’s able-bodied team pursuit squad to victory in the second round of the UCI Track World Cup in Columbia in December, took gold today with an emphatic performance.
And Storey was not the only member of the Great Britain team to stand on the podium. The tandem pairing of stoker, Aileen McGlynn, and pilot, Helen Scott, took silver in the women’s B/Vi 3km pursuit.
Storey said: “I’ve been working hard on getting more explosive, so it was good to get a PB as it shows I’m notching away towards the world record.
“Today I was just trying to concentrate on getting out of the gate cleanly, getting the first half snappy and then using my strength in the second lap and a half to drive as fast as I could. It all came together for me and I’m really chuffed.”
McGlynn and Scott faced the Irish pairing of Catherine Walsh and Francine Meehan in the final of the women’s B/Vi 3km pursuit. The British pair were overhauled after a strong start and claimed the silver medal.
Scott said: “For a few seconds in that final I thought, we can have this, but I think we got it all out in the first ride. We went off well trying to hold the same splits but we were a little slower each time.”
Great Britain’s Lora Turnham and Fiona Duncan lost out to New Zealand’s Phillipa Gray and Laura Thompson in a ride off for the bronze medal.
