World Track Championships 2008 - Manchester
Wales’ Paralympic cycling hopefuls will be in action on Thursday as they take to the boards at the Manchester Velodrome.
Swansea’s Jody Cundy and Wrexham’s Ellen Hunter will be leading the Welsh contingent in an event which forms part of Thursday’s Track World Championships programme.
Each rider will compete in their own specialist events against a set time, with points awarded according to how close they come to the world best.
Hunter is a pilot rider for Scottish tandem partner Aileen McGlynn who is partially sighted. The duo is a firm fixture on the international cycling scene. They can already boast gold and silver from the Athens Paralympics and will be aiming for a rostrum performance in Beijing in September.
The Wrexham rider celebrated her fortieth birthday earlier this year but shows no signs of slowing down. Last August, the pairing powered to double gold at the IPC Para-Cycling Championships in Bordeaux in August. A remarkable career considering that she was told she would never cycle again after breaking her back just a few years ago.
Her husband Paul – who took Ellen out for a bike ride as their first date – will also be appearing in Manchester. He too graced the medal haul as a pilot rider, taking two bronze medals with Ian Sharpe.
Jody Cundy – who has switched from swimming to cycling since the Athens Games – will also be looking for an impressive time on the clock. The double world champion is getting used to wearing rainbow jerseys and will be looking to impress, just 165 days out from the Games in China. Cundy will be lining up for his favoured event, the kilometre time trial. He will also be joining forces with Rik Waddon and Mark Bristow for the team sprint.
Bridgend’s Simon Richardson will also go in the kilo time trial, though he is in a different class of disability to Cundy. He finished just outside the medals at the World Championships with a fifth place in the time trial. He was then forced to pull out of the road race after breaking his collarbone so he will be keen to stage his comeback.
