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The Australian Cycling Team collected twelve medals, including three rainbow jerseys, at the 2018 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Maniago, Italy. Bathurst’s Emilie Miller (H1 Handcycle) won time trial and road race gold, while Melbourne’s Alistair Donohoe (C5) claimed his third career road world title. The Victorian trio of Carol Cooke (T2 - Tricycle) and Hannah Macdougall (C4) won dual silver in the road race and time trial, as did debutant Kaitlyn Schurmann (C1). Kyle Bridgwood and Meg Lemon won bronze in the C4 time trial finals, with Darren Hicks claiming bronze in the C2 road race.  For Donohoe, 23, a stunning solo victory in the C5 road race gave him his third road rainbow jersey from the last four World Championships. The 2014 and 2015 road world champion was part of a three-rider breakaway for most of the race before his attack on the pair inside the final few kilometres went unanswered. “It was super aggressive in the first two laps, then on the last lap I hit the pair before the fast run into town, and from there it was just head down to the finish, and I managed to hold them off,” said Donohoe, who won by twenty seconds. “Winning solo is always a rarity especially being someone who prefers the sprints, and my first victory since Rio. After having some health and injury problems last season, it was just so, so, so good to get back on top. “And in my favourite event, this is a fantastic win. In a typically Australian way, I’m stoked.” Official results: visit the UCI website.
2018 Australian Cycling Team - UCI Para Road World Championships Summary
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Alistair celebrates his 2015 world title.
The Australian Cycling Team has arrived in Italy ahead of the 2018 UCI Para Road World Championships to be held from 2-5 August.
The team is together for the first time since May’s opening round of the Para Road World Cup in Belgium where the team grabbed 12 medals, including gold to Carol Cooke, Darren Hicks, Stuart Tripp, Meg Lemon and Kyle Bridgwood. Carol Cooke added to the tally gold and silver at the second round in the Netherlands. Following the World Cup where he grabbed bronze, dual road world champion Alistair Donohoe opted to spend his final few weeks of preparation in his bedroom. But while it might sound like he was skipping training to catch up on his TV shows, it was all in the name of sport performance. “For the past three weeks, I’ve had the altitude tent set up in my bedroom,” explained Donohoe, 23, “It’s actually super boring as I had to lock myself in my room for around 14 hours a day (including sleep) and pretend like I was the bubble boy. I became good friends with Netflix! “I did it not because I’m going to go racing at altitude, but for the physiological benefits of increasing (or trying to) the number of red blood cells in my body. “The hardest part is the added fatigue effects it has on your body and trying to train at 100% while in the tent can be pretty difficult, you have a few more off days than usual, and your sleep/recovery isn't quite as good, so it's a bit of a balancing act.”
Donohoe’s balancing act has not been confined to the four walls of a hyperbaric chamber, with his season interspersed with Australian team commitments including the Track World Championships, and his debut season with Conti team Mobius BridgeLane.
“The new team Mobius BridgeLane has been awesome so far, a great group of guys and an incredible support network. I'm really enjoying my time with them and every race we enter,” said Donohoe, who raced his debut season in the USA just after winning silver at the UCI Track World Championships in Rio. “Racing in the USA at the beginning of the year was a great experience too, having raced in Europe and Asia it was nice to get a taste of what the US had to offer, and it was some pretty high-class racing. “It was tough coming straight off Track World Championships and going into that racing, but it definitely helped my bronze medal performance at the Belgium World Cup in May.”
The 2014 and 2015 road world champion is chasing rainbows next week in Italy and will line up in the road race and time trial from August 2.
“Of course, the goal is to bring home some stripes,” he said. “But it is always hard to know how you're feeling without having any preparation races! “I've been doing a lot of time trial training the past few weeks and should have faith in the numbers I’m seeing and that they indicate I’m moving pretty well. “The road race is, of course, my bread and butter event, and I would love more than anything to take that one out and stand on the top step, so we'll see how that goes!” So after weeks in the bubble, and 20+ hours on the plane, what will Donohoe’s first move be when he arrives in team camp? “My first few days will mostly involve recovering from the jet lag as fast as possible and settling into the new time zone, then will be tapering into the racing. “I'll also be trying to acclimatise to the hot weather over there, so I will be utilising a sauna for the first few days to do heat acclimatisation sessions.” 2018 Australian Cycling Team - UCI Para Road World Championships
 Janssen & Gallagher in action in the Tandem sprint - Photo © Casey Gibson The Australian Cycling Team has celebrated ten medals at the 2018 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Rio, fourth most by any nation behind Great Britain, Netherlands and China. Highlighting the four days of competition for the green and gold was a world title defence by David Nicholas (QLD), and a world record and two medals to debutant Emily Petricola (VIC), plus dual silver to the Tandem pairing of Jessica Gallagher and Maddie Janssen. The Championships also offered the first vital opportunity for nations to grab valuable qualification points towards Tokyo 2020, with the 16-rider Australian team featuring among 200 of the world’s best from 30 countries. Complete results. Summary of medallists GOLD
SILVER
BRONZE
Recap Reigning Paralympic and world champion David Nicholas (QLD) surged to defend his C3 individual pursuit world title on the opening day, clocking the fastest time during Thursday afternoon’s qualifying (3:36.792). Nicholas found two extra seconds in the tank in the evening’s final (3:34.804) to comfortably defeat Diederick Schelfhout (BEL) by over four seconds. "It definitely feels amazing to defend my pursuit title, as it was the objective of the Championships. I am pretty happy with my results but there is always room for improvements so I will reflect when we get home and hopefully be stronger and faster next time," said Nicholas. On her team debut on Thursday, Emily Petricola (VIC) powered to a time of 41.409secs to win bronze in the C4 women’s 500m time trial. On Saturday, Petricola eclipsed the existing C4 individual pursuit world record in qualifying by two tenths of a second (3:54.501), before riding to take the silver medal. Teammate Meg Lemon (SA) won the bronze. “I have been pleasantly surprised by my performance here, in particular grabbing bronze in the time trial,” said Petricola, who only began cycling a few months ago. “I need to acknowledge the work of Cam Jennings who has moulded me into some resemblance of a track cyclist. “Taking the world record in the individual pursuit was not in the plans, but a great bonus. My only possible improvement would have been gold in the event.” Victorians Jessica Gallagher and Maddie Janssen claimed dual silver on the week in the Tandem time trial and sprint, with the pair recording a personal best in the flying 200m. Both Tandem events were won by multiple Paralympic and world champion Sophie Thornhill (GBR) and Pilot Helen Scott, including world records in both events. Gallagher and Janssen will now head home to represent Australia at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. “We are really happy with our results and our two silver medals,” said Gallagher. “A personal best in our flying 200m and just outside our one kilometre time trial personal gives us great momentum as we head straight into GC2018. “We have a few areas we can improve on & we are incredibly excited to head home and race on home soil.” In all, Australia finished just off the top step in seven events with silver to Amanda Reid (NSW-C2) in the time trial, Kyle Bridgwood (QLD-C4) in the pursuit, and Alistair Donohoe (VIC-C5) and Darren Hicks (SA-C2) in their respective scratch races. The team was also just off the podium in fourth on seven occasions through Darren Hicks (SA-C2), Simone Kennedy (NSW-C3) and Amanda Reid (NSW-C2) in the individual pursuit, and Kennedy and Kyle Bridgwood (QLD-C4) in the time trial. In the men’s Tandem, Brad Henderson and Pilot Thomas Clarke finished fourth in both the time trial and sprint in their first Championships as a pairing. It took the might of multiple Paralympic and world champion Neil Fachie (GBR) and Pilot Matthew Rothertham to stop the pair’s run in the sprint semi final. In other events, Alistair Donohoe (VIC) finished fifth in the C5 individual pursuit and eighth in the time trial, Lemon sixth in the time trial, and Reid fifth in the scratch race. Darcy Thompson (SA-C1) was eighth in the time trial and sixth in the individual pursuit, with Gordon Allan (NSW-C2) fifth in the time trial. The Tandem pairing of Kieran Murphy and Pilot Lachlan Glasspool (SA) was seventh in the pursuit and in the time trial. Day 4 Photos © Casey Gibson
2018 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships | Rio De Janeiro | 22-25 March 2018
The Australian Cycling Team’s journey towards the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games begins this Thursday in Rio at the 2018 UCI Para-cyclingTrack World Championships. From March 22-25, the Championships offers the first vital opportunity for nations to grab valuable qualification points towards Tokyo 2020, with the 16-rider Australian team to vie against 200 of the world’s best from 30 countries. It will also be a return to the velodrome for many of our 2016 Paralympic heroes, in particular reigning world champions David Nicholas (QLD) and Amanda Reid (NSW). “I think everyone has travelled quite well over to Rio from Australia, still getting over a bit of jetlag as expected, but everything is looking good so far for some good performances,” said Nicholas, who claimed 2016 Paralympic gold in in the individual pursuit and will be aiming for a strong performance in his world title defence. “Being back here in Rio at the Velodrome where I won gold two years ago feels amazing, first hit out on track was great. “Certainly will try to defend my title, but if I do a great performance that I know I can do, I will be happy and the result will be what it will be.” Dual reigning world champion Reid is eager to get the competition underway after completing a week of training on the track. “Felt great to be back here on these boards again after 2016, spending time getting used to the slightly different shape of the track again before ramping up the training as the week progressed,” added Reid, who announced herself in 2017 with rainbow jerseys in both the time trial and individual pursuit. “I'm feeling really more and more excited about the competition as we get closer to it. “I'm confident about my chances of retaining my world crown in the 500 time trial which is my main goal, and I'm also looking for a personal best in the individual pursuit.” The Championships begin what will be a busy two weeks for 2016 world champions and Paralympic bronze medallists Jessica Gallagher (VIC) and Pilot Madison Janssen (VIC), with the pair also set to represent Australia at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. “Personally, Maddie and I are really excited to race, we have a busy few weeks ahead with the back up straight into the Commonwealth Games, so managing our training loads and taper has been incredibly important,” said Gallagher. The pair will contest the Tandem time trial and sprint at both the World Championships and the Games. “We are riding fast and with good race conditions anticipated we have high expectations particularly in the sprint. It's safe to say the entire team are all ready to get out there and race!'” Similarly in the men's Tandem, Brad Henderson (SA) and Thomas Clarke (SA-Pilot) will fine-tune their Games preparation at the Worlds. “This is a really good chance for Tom and I to have some international race experience in a strong field before the Commonwealth Games,” said Henderson. “We are aiming to execute everything we’ve been doing in training, come out with some personal bests and see how we compare amongst the worlds best.” The team also features reigning world champion Simone Kennedy (NSW), plus 2016 Paralympic Games silver medallists Alistair Donohoe (VIC) and Kyle Bridgwood (QLD). Follow the World Championships Follow the Australian Cycling Team
Australian Cycling Team
 Cycling Australia is pleased to announce a 16-rider team for the 2018 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships to be held in Rio De Janeiro from 22-55 March 2018.
Reigning world champions Amanda Reid (NSW), David Nicholas (QLD) and Simone Kennedy (NSW) headline the team, which also features Paralympic champions and medallists. 2016 Paralympic Games silver medallists Alistair Donohoe (VIC) and Kyle Bridgwood (QLD) add experience to the team and will both be looking to reclaim world titles on the track. Darcy Thompson (SA) receives his third national team selection, while Darren Hicks (SA) who claimed two medals at the Road World Championships earns his maiden selection on the track. National champions Meg Lemon (SA), Emily Petricola (VIC) and Gordon Allan (NSW) will also feature. 2016 world champion and Paralympic bronze medallist Jessica Gallagher (VIC) will be looking to reclaim her sprint title with new Pilot Lara Tucker (QLD) as they eye the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In the men's Tandem events Brad Henderson (SA) and Thomas Clarke (SA-Pilot) will contest the sprint events and Kieran Murphy (SA) and Lachlan Glasspool (SA-Pilot) the endurance races. Australian Cycling Team for 2018 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships
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