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Last Updated: 2 Apr 2018 - 8:45:17 PM |
PARALYMPICS: ROHAN POWERS TO SECOND GOLD IN ROAD RACE
By Cycling Ireland
7 Sep 2012,
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Mark Rohan Storms to Victory in Handcycling Road Race
Mark Rohan has stamped his authority on the Men’s H1 category in the world of Paracycling, by adding a Gold Medal in the Road Race to the Gold he won in the Time Trial earlier this week. The pressure of being the World Number 1 ranked rider spurred on Rohan, who dictated the pace of the race in the second half of the 48km event. Fankhauser, the Swiss man, took silver just 2 seconds behind Rohan. Defending Paralympic Champion Schattauer, from Austria, took Bronze a further 15 seconds back.
The ten starters in the H1 Handcycling Road Race were whittled down to six after the first lap, with all the favourites still in contention. In what became a war of attrition this bunch depleted as the laps were clocked. The cyclist were to complete 6 laps of the 8km loop.
After 36km Rohan made his move “Myself and my coach Brian Nugent had a plan before the race. I knew if I was there after four and a half laps I could take it”. This was the longest race that Rohan has raced to date, although he clocks between 15 and 20 hours of handcycling per week.
Fankhauser raced an impressive race to stick with the Irish powerhouse, with Beijing Paralympic Champion Schauttauer (Austria) battling hard to keep on track, holding onto a respectable Bronze.
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| Irish Paralympic Team which includes 10 Paracyclists and their 4 man support team |
After the medal ceremony a slightly more melancholy Rohan reflected on the journey to this double gold medal.
“It has been a tough ten years, and to end with this...”
“I have always given 100% to sport. Sport is sport, whether it is in an able bodied competition or a disabled competition. The emotions are the same”
After this Rohan will take a short break where he will turn his hand at a few more sports before re-focusing on the 2016 Games. He also plans to study Sports Development.
“I want to promote disability sports. I want to show people that there are real opportunities out there in sport if you have a disability. I think I will get a lot of satisfaction out of that.”
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Saturday 8th September: Time Table
ROAD RACE
10.30 Catherine Walsh & Fran Meehan, Katie-George Dunlevy and Sandra Fitzgerald
14.30 James Brown & Damien Shaw
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