Pietermaritzburg. The world para-cycling elite are meeting in
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, for the 2017 UCI Para-cycling Road
World Championships – and Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) lives up to his
role as a favourite. On Thursday, the BMW Brand Ambassador won the
time trial in the MH5 category (men’s hand-cycle), defending his
world title in the discipline. Overall, it is the ninth world title
that Zanardi has won in his para-cycling career to date.
The time trial was the first of three competitions that Zanardi
is taking part in at the Pietermaritzburg world championships. The
para-athletes completed three laps on a 7.75 kilometre long circuit, a
total distance of 23.3 kilometres. Zanardi continued where he had
finished at the previous world championships held in Switzerland two
years ago – with winning ways. He completed the distance in 37:47.96
minutes and was 2.6 seconds faster than his rival and friend,
second-placed Tim de Vries (NED). In doing so, Zanardi secured his
fourth consecutive world title in the discipline.
“I am
very proud of this result and I want to thank everybody in my team,
including my wife Daniela, who contributed to it,” said Zanardi. “It
was a very long race, pretty technical, and the interpretation of the
unfolding race was the key to finishing with a smile on my face. On
the first lap I was fourth, then second on lap two, and on lap three I
was ahead. I guess I not only had what it took to win the gold medal
but I also used it in the best possible way.”
“When you win by only two seconds after over 37 minutes of
competition you have to admit that you were not stronger than the guy
who finished second but that you were just a little luckier,” Zanardi
continued. “But I was certainly as strong as my rivals and, as I am
approaching the age of 51, I think it is quite remarkable, given that
some of these guys are in their mid-twenties. So I am proud of it and
I take it.”
On Saturday (2nd September) Zanardi will compete in
the 60.7 kilometre individual road race and on Sunday (3rd
September) the team-relay is scheduled for him and the Italian
national team. Zanardi is also the reigning world champion in both of
these disciplines.