The New Zealand pair of Nicole Murray and Rory Mead return to international competition for the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Belgium this weekend.
A year on from the Paris Paralympics, the pair will take their first pedal strokes towards the 2028 Los Angeles Games when they compete in the time trial and road races in Ronse, Belgium.
Mead, the 37-year-old hand-cyclist, is excited to get back into international racing. He has made significant change to his training regime after what he termed as a disappointing return in Paris despite placing fourth in the H2 time trial and fifth in the road race.
“We decided we had to make some serious changes after Paris. I’ve ridden a lot more and really upped the volume which has worked out well. We doubled what we have previously done in mileage and hours per week and the added strength has come from that,” said Mead.
“This is year one of a four-year build. It would be nice to come away with a podium and chase down those front-three.
“If I can get closer to them in year one, then with three more years to build towards LA , we believe I can be on the podium there or go for the gold medal.”
Murray is a highly experienced and successful para-cyclist with a bundle of Paralympic and World medals on the track and road.
“Preparation has been mainly good although I had a little stint in hospital last month to have an abscess surgically cut out of my leg which caused a little bump in the road. But I am tracking well, all things considered and really looking forward to this race,” said Murray.
“I would like to finish on the podium but I don’t think I am at my best form right now, so finishing in the top six would be great. There are a few new competitors on the scene so I would like to check them out and get a feel about how everyone is going.”
Both Murray and Mead are excited about the road course in Ronse which comprises a mix of terrain.
“The road race course is exciting especially for a para race because sometimes our courses can be quite basic, said Murray.
“So I am looking forward to racing on a course that has a bit of everything – climbs, cobbles, technical sections and nice rolling sections which should be fun,” said Murray.
Mead leads off in the H2 (handcyclist) time trial over two laps (13kms) on Thursday 3pm (Friday 1am NZ time) followed by Murray in the C5 category, over three laps (19.5km) from 9.30am Friday (Friday 7.30pm NZT).
The action moves to the road race on the weekend, with Mead racing over 46.6km (4 laps) from 10.15am on Saturday (Saturday 8.15pm NZT) and Murray over 58.3kms (5 laps) from 11.45am on Sunday (9.45pm NZT).