From ushandcycling.org
used with permission
Team USA Finishes on Top in Denmark
Wednesday, 14 September 2011 19:58
The U.S. Paralympic Cycling Team vaulted to the top of medal count Sunday, as the 2011 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Roskilde, Denmark concluded.
Photo: Monica Bascio (center) wins her 3rd World Title in the Road Race.
The multi-disability team earned a total of 14 medals, with 8 coming from handcyclists.
Three athletes are already preparing for their trip to the 2012 Paralympic Games in London thanks to their performances in Denmark: Monica Bascio (H3, Evergreen, CO) led the team with a pair of victories in the TT and the RR, which capped off a perfect season following her UCI World Cup overall title. Bascio took the overall victory in the WH1/2/3 road race despite being isolated by Swiss riders Ursula Schwaller and Sandra Graf on lap #3 when her teammate, Muffy Davis was dropped. Bascio played the race perfectly and outsprinted Graf for the win. Oz Sanchez (H4, San Diego, CA) won the Gold in the Individual TT and rebounded with Gold in the relay (Sanchez also won the overall World Cup title), following a 6th-placed finish in the road race. Standing athlete, Allison Jones (C2, Colorado Springs, CO) also nabbed two Gold medals in Denmark and is currently in London previewing the cycling venues for the USOC.
Muffy Davis (H2, Salt Lake City, UT) managed to take home three medals from Denmark: Two Silvers from the Individual TT and Road Race, and a Gold in the relay (with Sanchez and Matt Updike). Although still seeking the elusive individual World Title, Davis capped a stellar season following an overall World Cup title as well. Cassie Mitchell (Atlanta, GA) also won two Gold medals, thanks to her two victories over Karen March of Canada in the new women’s H1 category.
Photo: Oz Sanchez in the Road Race
Matt Updike (H2, Denver, CO) earned a bit of redemption Sunday night with a Gold in the relay on the heels of a flat tire in the individual RR that saw him drop from 3rd to 11th in the final 5 kilometers. Updike continues to shake-off mechanical issues at big international events, and the relay was no exception when his left crank arm rotated 30 degrees at the relay start and he lost 30 seconds. He managed to get it fixed and chased wildly to catch all but the Swiss team, but left a gap of only :08 which was bridged by Davis, leaving it to Sanchez who outsprinted Jean-Marc Berset of Switerland for the Gold.
Photo: Matt Updike (2nd row, right side) gets ready for his RR start.
Other U.S. athletes earned valuable experience at their first international races, including Dane Pilon (H4, Fayetteville, NC) who dropped a chain in the TT and finished just outside the medals and then crashed in the RR after sitting comfortably in the lead group. Tony Pedeferri (H1, Camarillo, CA) looked solid mid-pack in the H1 race and feels like he now has “a good indication of where I need to be going in to 2012.” Leon Bostick (Northridge, CA) struggled in the H2 race after an unfortunate reclassification from H1 to H2 by the UCI.
In the standing categories, Greta Neimanas and Meg Fisher both won medals and the tandem team of Karissa Whitsell and Lisa Turnbull won Gold in the Road Race.
USA Medal Summary
Time Trial
H1W – Mitchell, Gold
H2W – Davis, Silver
H3W – Bascio, Gold
H4M – Sanchez, Gold
C2W – Jones, Gold
C4W – Fisher, Silver
C5W – Neimanas, Bronze
Road Race
H1W – Mitchell, Gold
H2W – Davis, Silver
H3W – Bascio, Gold
C2W – Jones, Gold
C4W – Fisher, Bronze
Tandem – Whitsell/Turnbull, Gold
Handcycle Relay
Updike/Davis/Sanchez, Gold
Complete results, more photos, etc can be found on the event website HERE.
Photo: Monica Bascio (left) and Muffy Davis prepare for the start of the RR
Photo: Tony Pedeferri warming up before the RR