After a very difficult week, Monica Bascio decided to travel to Mexico today and will compete in the ParaPanAm handcycle road race this Saturday. Bascio missed the opening time trial last Sunday after her father passed away unexpectedly. She returned to Colorado on Monday after spending four days in New Jersey for services and to be with her family. Until this morning, Monica was undecided about her attendance at the Games in Guadalajara.
“I decided to go to Mexico for a variety of reasons…mostly because I am exhausted and emotionally rattled, and I think the warm weather, sunshine, and opportunity for one more race will help clear my head…in addition, it’s the last chance for us to earn points towards team spots in London, and we need every women’s point possible…we’ve got a lot of talented medal contenders who need those spots.”
Bascio will be the only American in the women’s race, and will compete against a very small field of athletes, most from Mexico. “Their Para-cycling program is very new here, so perhaps I can help inspire some of the newer riders” said Bascio via telephone from Guadalajara this evening.
Bascio’s teammates, Oz Sanchez (San Diego, CA) and Matt Updike (Denver, CO) earned Gold and Silver, respectively in Sunday’s time trial. All three Americans are expected to bring home more hardware in Saturday’s road race.