Devon Briggs and Zhangyu Li became the fastest men in the world in Classes C3 and C1; Lauro Chaman and Sabrina Custódio da Silva bring the Brazilian flag to the podium

Now it’s the hosts’ turn to step onto the podium at the Rio Velodrome! Ten events were decided on this Thursday (21st), including five Flying Start 200m races, which count towards the Omnium. In this category, two new world records were set. After finishing the race in 11.641 seconds, Chinese Zhangyu Li is now the fastest man in the world in Class C1. Until then, the achievement belonged to the Spaniard Ricardo Ten Argiles (12.203” in 2022). New Zealander Devon Briggs became the record holder in class C3 by completing the course in 10.919 seconds, surpassing the mark of American Jason Kimball (11.141” in 2018).

Additionally, Brazil won its first medals in the competition, both silver. Lauro Chaman stepped onto the podium after competing in the final of the individual pursuit of Class C5 against the Frenchman Dorian Foulon. Sabrina Custódio da Silva obtained the second best time in the 500m individual time trial of the female C2 Class. Australian Amanda Reid defended the title and kept the champion’s jersey once again.

Reid hasn’t lost a 500m individual time trial race at the World Championships since 2016. This Thursday, in Rio, she completed the 500 meters in 39.041 seconds and achieved the consecutive sixth championship in the competition. She is the current Paralympic champion and, besides the gold, set the world record in the event in Tokyo: 38.162 seconds. Now, her goal is to break her own record.

“It’s my sixth consecutive gold in this race, which is really cool. I’m very happy with the race I did and to have achieved it. I love cycling and I’m really enjoying my stay. It’s my third time in Rio and the third time is lucky: I won silver in the 2016 Paralympics and in the 2018 World Championships, and now I finally got the gold here. In the Paris Games, I hope to win all the golds and hopefully set a new world record,” she planned.

Silver medalist Sabrina Custódio da Silva already has a happy ending to call her own in Rio. Two months ago, the athlete fractured her collarbone and wasn’t even sure if she could fulfill her dream of competing in the World Championships in her country. The “maybe” from the doctors and the strength that came from her family were all the fuel she needed. The Brazilian managed to speed up her recovery, adapt her preparation, and all the struggle culminated in the achievement of the medal that had narrowly escaped her last year. The Parapan American champion in the 500m individual time trial and individual pursuit in 2023, she had already come close to medaling in the World Championships in Glasgow, finishing fourth in the Omnium and 500m individual time trial.

“It’s more than a gold medal. I didn’t expect this result, our goal was just to finish the race and score some points for Brazil. So, ending up with silver is much more than we expected because of the fall I had, and it’s only been two months since I fractured my collarbone, and it shows that just believing in ourselves we can achieve, I’m very happy,” Sabrina declared.

Bronze in the individual pursuit last year, Dorian Foulon won his first world title in this discipline, of which he is also the current Paralympic champion. The athlete also has two world titles in the individual time trial (one on the track in 2022 and one in the Road World Cup in 2023). Now, he dreams of a gold in Paris to be a Paralympic champion in his own homeland.

“I am very, very happy with my performance today, as I managed to reach it and got a resounding victory. I hope to win more medals in the coming days. The Paralympic Games will be in my country and I will strive to the fullest to, who knows, be a champion at home,” he said.

Chaman qualified for the fight for gold after obtaining the second best time among the 26 athletes in the qualifying phase. The Brazilian has made Rio his home: after two medals in Rio 2016 and the world title in Scratch in 2018, he achieves another podium in the Rio track. In 2023, he won two bronzes at the World Championships (Scratch and Omnium), in addition to the gold in the individual pursuit and bronze in the individual time trial at the Parapan American Games.

“I have a lot to thank everyone in our delegation, I think each of us is doing a good job, it’s very difficult to compete here at such a high level. I am very happy and grateful to be participating in another world championship and winning a silver medal is very important to me. I believe Dorian is a great reference today in this race, he is a Paralympic and world champion, but we are coming in a very positive evolution and now it’s time to focus on the coming days,” commented Lauro Chaman.

Check out the medalists and the medal table at the end of the second day:

Events of Day 2 (03/21):

C5 Women’s Class – 200m Flying Start (Omnium)

Top 3: Caroline Groot (NED), Marie Patouillet (FRA), and Nicole Murray (NZL)

Brazilian: Fabiana Ventura de Assis (9th) and Telma Aparecida Alves Bueno (12th)

C4 Women’s Class – Flying Start 200 m (Omnium)

Top 3: Kadeena Cox (GBR), Franziska Matile-Dörig (SUI), and Xiaohui Li (CHN)

C3 Men’s Class – Flying Start 200 m (Omnium)

Top 3: Devon Briggs (NZL)*, Jaco Van Gass (GBR), and Finlay Graham (GBR)

Brazilians: Eduardo Carvalho Hipólito de Araújo (13th) and Edson Fernando Jorge (15th)

*New world record: 10.919 seconds.

C2 Men’s Class – Flying Start 200 m (Omnium)

Top 3: Alexandre Léauté (FRA), Shota Kawamoto (JPN), and Chris Burns (IRL)

Brazilian: Victor Luise de Oliveira Herling (11th)

C1 Men’s Class – Flying Start 200 m (Omnium)

Top 3: Zhangyu Li (CHN)*, Weicong Liang (CHN), and Ricardo Ten Argiles (ESP)

Brazilians: Carlos Alberto Gomes Soares (8th)

*New world record: 11.641 seconds.

C5 Men’s Class – Individual Pursuit (4 km)

Medalists: Dorian Foulon (FRA), Lauro Chaman (BRA), and Franz-Josef Lässer (AUT)

Brazilians: Pablo Henrick Voigt Santos

Brazilians: Pablo Henrick Voigt Santos (14th) and Soelito Gohr (18th)

Women’s C2 Class – Time Trial (500m)

Medalists: Amanda Reid (AUS), Sabrina Custódio da Silva (BRA), and Flurina Rigling (SUI)

Brazilian: Victoria Maria de Camargo e Barbosa (8th) and Mikaeli de Araújo Lima (9th)

Men’s C4 Class – Individual Pursuit (4 km)

Medalists: Archie Atkinson (GBR), Kevin Le Cunff (FRA), and Gatien Le Rousseau (FRA)

Brazilians: André Luiz Grizante (19th), Gabriel Ribeiro da Silva (21st), and Elielson Rodrigues (22nd)

Women’s C1 Class – Time Trial (500m)

Medalists: Wangwei Qian (CHN) and Katie Toft (GBR)

Women’s Tandem – Time Trial (1 km)

Medalists: Great Britain (Elizabeth Jordan/Danielle Khan), Great Britain (Sophie Unwin/Jenny Holl), and Australia (Jessica Gallagher/Caitlin Ward)

Brazil: Bianca Canovas Garcia/Nicolle Wendy Borges (17th) and Márcia Fanhani Gonçalves Ribeiro/Maria Tereza Muller (18th)

The 2024 Para-Cycling Track World Championships are organized by the Brazilian Cycling Confederation (CBC) and TBA Sports Management under the supervision of the International Cycling Union (UCI), sponsored by the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB), Shimano, and the Federal Government through the Ministry of Sports. Additionally, it has the support of Santini, the Municipal Government of Rio de Janeiro, and the Cycling Federation of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FECIERJ).