Cycling Australia has named the athletes selected to the country’s team for this year’s International Cycling Union (UCI) Para-cycling Road World Championships in Belgian city Ostend.
The team for the event, due to take place from June 4 to 7, includes nine-time world champion Carol Cooke, winner of both the women’s road race and individual time trial T2 titles at the 2019 World Championships in Emmen in The Netherlands.
It also features reigning time trial world champions Emily Petricola, Alistair Donohoe and Darren Hicks, who compete in the C4, C5 and C2 categories, respectively.
Rounding out the eight-member team are C4’s Meg Lemon and T2’s Stuart Jones, medallists at last year’s World Championships, as well as Paralympic Games silver medallist Stuart Tripp in H5 and Grant Allen in H4.
The World Championships will be one of the final stops for Australia’s Para-cyclists prior to Tokyo 2020.
They will be looking to build on the country’s success at the recent UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Canadian town Milton, where it finished third in the medal standings with seven golds, one silver and one bronze.
“In line with our Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games strategy, we have selected a strong team to compete in Belgium,” Warren McDonald, Cycling Australia’s Para-cycling technical director, said.
“After our recent success at the 2020 Para-cycling Track World Championships in Canada, I am confident we can continue this trajectory through Belgium as we close in on the Paralympic Games.”
Australia topped the medal standings at the 2019 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships.
They amassed a total of 15 medals, made up of nine golds, one silver and five bronzes.
