Rio de Janeiro (BR), 14th September 2016. Perfect start for
Alessandro Zanardi (IT) to the Paralympic* para-cycling competitions
at Rio de Janeiro (BR): In today’s time trial, the 49-year old Italian
raced to gold in the H5 category with his handbike. For Zanardi this
is the third Paralympic gold medal of his career after winning twice
gold and one silver medal at the London games in 2012.
The time trial saw athletes tackle two laps of a ten-kilometre course
along the coastline of Pontal near Rio de Janeiro. Zanardi completed
the distance of 20 kilometres in the fastest time of 28:36.81 minutes,
securing gold in the first of the three races he is competing in in
Rio. He had an advantage of 2.7 seconds over silver medallist Stuart
Tripp (AU). The bronze medal went to Oscar Sanchez (US).
“It has been a long journey, which basically started the day after
the London games, when I decided that I would focus on a new horizon
in my life and that this would be Rio,” Zanardi said. “You also need
to know that the stadium and the facilities in Rio are built where
they used to have the Indycar circuit. I have always been fast on that
circuit, but never won a race. So deep inside I thought that this
would be another opportunity to correct this and to finally do
something in Rio de Janeiro. After the exciting years of preparation
and coming here to a course that was not really my kind of course, it
is just fantastic to finally enjoy the taste of gold once more.”
“I knew that the course in Pontal was, technically speaking, not in
my favour, for many reasons. As such, my trainer and I made a detailed
plan of how I should tackle the race and how to pace my effort, and I
stuck rigidly to that plan,” Zanardi continued. “I have to admit that
it was hard when I realised after the first lap that I was only third
and almost 20 seconds behind Stuart Tripp, who was leading at that
time. But nevertheless I kept cranking, following my plan, executing
my project. And I really pulled off a miracle on my second lap: not
only I did not slow down, but I actually managed to increase my
average power and sprint towards the end. So to win a gold medal by
just 2.7 seconds like this is even more tasty than otherwise. I am
very, very happy. I am very grateful to all the people who helped me
to be here and to enjoy this great achievement today.”
Next up for Zanardi is the road race tomorrow, Thursday 15th
September. “This race will be a gamble,” he predicts. “I am pretty
sure that all will be decided in a sprint towards the finish. We have
a very tight hair-pin, actually a ‘u-turn’, only 200 metres before the
finish. If I manage to come out of this final corner in a good
position, I know that I have a very good sprint. So I have a great
chance. But this is what everybody is thinking. So everybody will try
to enter this corner ahead of the rest of the field. As such, there is
even the possibility of an accident. It will be a thrilling race. I
will do my best and the key will be to stay out of any trouble.”
The third and final competition will be the team relay with the
Italian national team on Friday 16th September.
*Note:
BMW is not a sponsor or partner of the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio
de Janeiro.