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After an encouraging maiden Paracycling National Championships, event organisers are optimistic the success of the title race can herald increased opportunities for paracyclists across the UK.
The inaugural championships were held as part of the National Closed Circuit Championship at Thruxton Motor Circuit on October 9, with Ben Hetherington emerging as the first ever champion from a field of six riders.
After years of discussion and planning by the national committee, interrupted by the Covid pandemic, organiser Roger Wakeling was encouraged by the success of the event and hopes that such occasions will become a regular in the cycling calendar.
On the event, Wakeling said: “With us it is long overdue that we have got into it but hopefully we can accelerate and have more categories and have more understanding of how we look after paracyclists.”
Wakeling is now keen for the National Championship to grow, and believes there are plenty of lessons to learn from the debut race.
Wakeling admits that it took longer than ideal for the event to come to fruition, but believes it was important to do it justice and implement it correctly.
“It perhaps was a fear that we wouldn’t do justice to Paracycling and would go off half-cocked and not appreciate the paracyclists.
“It is nothing deliberate, it is just possibly the fact we weren’t in the right headspace to encourage it and encompass it and we now definitely are.
“At a board meeting it was clear we were going to put more effort into encouraging more para-athletes into the sport.
“I think that organisers need the encouragements and the knowledge of how to cope with paracyclists and how to best promote them right the way through, so the organisers are happy and the paracyclists know they can enter the events and be accepted.”
For one person in particular, the establishment of this event meant slightly more.
Hetherington, a promising junior rider, suffered brain injuries during a serious accident in 2019. Having been told at one point that he would never ride a bike again, being crowned Paracycling National Champion was a moment he will never forget.
The 27-year-old said: “I was over the moon with it. I couldn’t believe I became a national champion it was like, this is mental. I couldn’t believe it.
“It is massively important to have this championship now. I never thought of Paracycling before I became one.
“Having the championship is so good for Paracycling and to encourage paracyclists to get back on the bike and try their hardest and keep pushing to be the best they can be. I think it’s is great for the sport as a whole, too.”
For Wakeling, it is now imperative that CTT build on the success of the initial championship, while Hetherington is keen to see more Paracycling events embedded throughout the cycling calendar.
Wakeling said: “This is ground zero and we must not let this slip now.
“In the future I hope that Paracycling events are not just on closed circuit courses. Organisers are already encouraging paracyclists to take part and this must continue.
“Some courses don’t lend themselves to paracyclists because they are quite tricky, but there are plenty of courses out there they can do and we must remove those barriers to entry they may find.”
* All reports are copyright of Cycling Time Trials/Snowdon Sports. Not to be used without permission. This feature by James Ayles.