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Last Updated: 2 Apr 2018 - 8:45:17 PM |
PARALYMPICS: BROWN AND SHAW PUNCTURE & DUNLEVY AND FITZGERALD 5TH
By Cycling Ireland
8 Sep 2012,
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PUNCTURE AND MECHANICAL FORCE TANDEM TO WITHDRAW
Unlucky Brown And Shaw DNF after Puncture and Mechanical
The Irish Tandem of James Brown and Damien Shaw were forced to withdraw from the Men’s Individual B Road Race when they suffered a puncture followed by a mechanical in the first 32km of the 104km race. Before their withdrawal the duo were active at the front of the race, working with the Beijing Paralympic Champions Poland, and reigning World Champions France.
Brown and Shaw have only been together since January, and have been moving from strength to strength, winning a Bronze in the Time Trial earlier this week, and narrowly missing out on a medal in the Pursuit at the Velodrome. Both riders combine training at this elite level with full-time jobs, and despite this disadvantage have been producing outstanding results.
After the race Shaw said “We were going well, riding in a good position and feeling strong. When you are riding on tubular tyres they are fast, but they can puncture a bit easier, which is what happened. It took a long time to change, the support cars don’t follow the race which makes it difficult”.
Brown added “the Road Race is a bit of a lottery, we had a plan but you can’t predict what will happen out there. We are lucky we didn’t puncture in the Time Trial,” referring to the Bronze that Ireland won in the TT last Wednesday.
Brown and Shaw were the first Irish cyclists in action when the Games began, and were the last in action as the Paralympic Games come to a close. In between these races we have seen some of the best performances Ireland has ever produced. This has been an historic moment for cycling in Ireland, with two gold medals, a silver medal and two bronze won over the ten days. These were the first Irish medals in any Olympic or Paralympic Games in cycling.
The future is bright for Paracycling in Ireland.
PERFORMANCE SUMMARY
Gold – 2
Silver – 1
Bronze – 2
Fourth – 2
Fifth – 5
7th–10th – 7
National Records - 6
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DUNLEVY AND FITZGERALD 5TH IN TANDEM ROAD RACE
5th Place for Dunlevy and Fitzgerald, 9th for Walsh and Meehan
In a race of two halves, both Irish Female Tandems finished in the bunch sprint for Bronze, with Dunlevy and Fitzgerald taking respectable 5th place, losing narrowly to the Dutch tandem. Walsh and Meehan, who have already won Silver and Bronze in these Games, finished in 9th place in the 80km Road Race in Brands Hatch. The course was 10 laps of an 8km circuit, run over the same course used during the Time Trial earlier this week.
At the 40km mark Pre-Race favourites Weldon and Bessette from Canada made the decisive move, bringing Spain with them. This whittled the main bunch down to six bikes, including both Ireland pairings. After attempting to reel back these two bikes, the chasers were content to battle out for the bronze medal.
Coming into the last 2km Walsh and Meehan attacked:
Meehan said “We got a small gap in the last 2km, but the Kiwis chased us down, we knew that was where we would have to go if we wanted a medal”.
In what was an excellent race from both Irish bikes, Dunlevy and Fitzgerald found themselves on the front coming into the last 500m.
Fitzgerald, who is dominant on the domestic Irish scene, said “that was not where we wanted to be, as we knew the Netherlands would have a good sprint, but we had to just go for it”.
This tandem has only been together since January, and have already established themselves as tough competitors on the world stage, coming home from their first Paralympic Games with three 5th places.
After the race Dunlevy said “Three 5th places, that’s not bad because we are only together a few months. But I’m not leaving the sport until I have gold.”
The determination that this pair have shown over the last two weeks demonstrates that they are ones to watch in the future.
Saturday 8th September: Time Table
ROAD RACE
14.30 James Brown & Damien Shaw
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