ParalympicsGB can today announce the selected riders who will compete at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
A total of 17 riders have been selected, including six who will be making their Paralympic debuts. There are also three Paralympic newcomers among the six pilots who will be competing at Paris 2024.
After their most successful Paralympic Games ever, which saw them bring home 24 medals from Tokyo, with every rider winning a medal, this year’s squad boasts a stacked lineup of seven reigning Paralympic champions across the road and track events in Paris.
In the women’s events, Dame Sarah Storey is set to return for a remarkable ninth Paralympic Games – the most number of appearances ever for a British athlete. Having chosen to focus on the road events, she will be looking to defend the titles she has held for the past three Games in the C5 time-trial and C4-5 road race.
Dame Sarah Storey said “Competing in nine Games is a dream I didn’t ever have. As a teenager I wanted to be an athlete for as long as I possibly could but always assumed I’d be too old by 46! I’ve got such a great support around me, led by my brilliant husband Barney and am very excited to pull on ParalympicsGB kit again.”
Joining her is familiar face Kadeena Cox, who will be hoping to continue her sprint dominance on the track in the individual C4-5 500m time-trial and the mixed team sprint.
Competing at the Paralympic Games for the first time, reigning C2 individual pursuit world champion Daphne Schrager will race in the C1-3 individual pursuit on the track, while fellow debutant Fran Brown contests the C1-3 500m time-trial. Both riders will then compete in the C1-2 road race and time-trial.
Daphne Schrager said: “I am so excited for my first Games; it’s going to be incredible experience and a phenomenal team environment to be part of. I am excited to show my best performances on the biggest stage and capitalise on my medal potential, let’s go!”
In the women’s B events, ParalympicsGB boasts incredible strength in depth as defending individual pursuit champion Lora Fachie and pilot Corrine Hall return for their third Paralympic Games. Having taken a silver and a bronze medal at their first Games in Tokyo, Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl will be looking to top off a stellar three years with Paralympic gold.
Meanwhile, debutants Lizzie Jordan and pilot Danni Khan will be looking to make their mark in Paris after taking three world titles in their first track event together earlier this year. All three pairings will compete at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome to contest the 1,000m time-trial and individual pursuit events before moving on to the road race and time-trial.
Competition is equally fierce in the men’s events, where current Paralympic and world individual pursuit champion Jaco van Gass once again goes head-to-head with teammate Fin Graham in the C3 category. Both riders will contest the C3 individual pursuit, while van Gass will also join the mixed team sprint as they aim to defend their Paralympic title. Ben Watson will join the duo as all three compete in the C3 time-trial and C1-3 road race.
They will be joined by Para cycling star Jody Cundy, who heads to Paris for an eighth Paralympic Games, where he will compete in the C4-5 1,000m time-trial, before joining Cox and van Gass in the mixed team sprint event.
Jody Cundy said: “Every Paralympic selection is just as special as the last one and I’m incredibly proud and grateful to be still representing my country at Paralympic Games level. The development of the Games and the Paralympic movement as a whole since my first experience 1996 is just incredible and hopefully this Games will continue to inspire the next generation.”
Matt Robertson, Archie Atkinson and Blaine Hunt will head to the French capital for the first time as part of the ParalympicsGB squad, hoping to make it onto the podium across the road and track.
Having worked through a long period of recovery after a road-traffic accident in 2022, Robertson will make his Paralympic debut in the C2 individual pursuit on the track, as well as the C2 time-trial, before joining his teammates in the C1-3 road race.
After a breakout first year on the programme, current C4 individual pursuit world champion Archie Atkinson will be looking to add Paralympic champion to his palmares in the C4 track event. He will also compete in the C4-5 1,000m time-trial, C4-5 road race and C4-5 time-trial.
Atkinson will have some British competition in the C4-5 1,000m time-trial as fellow debutant and C5 1,000m time-trial world champion Blaine Hunt will be looking to make the top step in Paris. Hunt will also contest the C5 individual pursuit and the C4-5 road race.
The men’s B events will also be hotly contested on the track as two-time Paralympic and 10-time world 1,000m time-trial champion Neil Fachie and pilot Matt Rotherham look to defend their title. James Ball returns for his third Games with debutant pilot Steffan Lloyd, with the pair contesting the 1,000m time-trial. The individual pursuit will see all three male tandems, including two-time Paralympic champion Steve Bate and debutant pilot Chris Latham, looking to take the top step. Bate and Latham will also compete in the road events.
Performance Director for the Great Britain Cycling Team, Stephen Park CBE said: “I am incredibly excited for every one of the 23 riders that have been selected to represent ParalympicsGB this summer in Paris. We are blessed with so much incredible talent across the programme, so just being selected is an incredible achievement that each athlete should be proud of.
“The strength and depth across our team is unmatched. We have Dame Sarah Storey and Jody Cundy competing at their ninth and eighth Games respectively, plus new talent including Archie Atkinson and Lizzie Jordan who are ready to show the world what they can achieve.
“ParalympicsGB has a strong history of cycling success at the Paralympic Games and I am confident that this Games will continue that trend of medal-winning performances to hopefully inspire those watching at home to get on a bike and find the joy of cycling.”
Penny Briscoe, Chef de Mission for ParalympicsGB at Paris 2024 said: “I’m delighted to be able to welcome such a stellar group of athletes to the ParalympicsGB team for Paris 2024. Our cycling squads have a proven track record of success on the international stage and I have no doubt they will do us proud once again this summer.”
ParalympicsGB cycling squad:
Men’s B
James Ball (Ponthir,Wales) piloted by Steffan Lloyd (Llandysul, Wales) – MB 1,000m time-trial, MB individual pursuit
Steve Bate (Moray, Scotland) piloted by Chris Latham (Bolton) – MB individual pursuit, MB road race, MB time-trial
Neil Fachie (Aberdeen) piloted by Matt Rotherham (Bolton) – MB 1,000m time-trial, MB individual pursuit
Men’s C2
Matt Robertson (Kent) – C2 individual pursuit, C2 time-trail, C1-3 road race
Men’s C3
Fin Graham (Strathpeffer, Scotland) – C3 individual pursuit, mixed team sprint, C3 time-trial, C1-3 road race
Jaco van Gass (Reading) – C1-3 1,000m time-trial, C3 individual pursuit, C3 time-trial, C1-3 road race
Ben Watson (Glossop, North West) – C3 time-trial, C1-3 road race
Men’s C4
Archie Atkinson (Heaton Moor, Cheshire) – C4 individual pursuit, C4-5 1,000m time-trial, C4 time-trial, C4-5 road race
Jody Cundy (Wisbech, Cambridgeshire) – C4-5 1,000m time-trial, mixed team sprint
Men’s C5
Blaine Hunt (London) – C5 individual pursuit, C4-5 road race
Women’s B
Lora Fachie (Liverpool) piloted by Corrine Hall (Mitcham, London) – WB 1,000m time-trial, WB individual pursuit, WB time-trial, WB road race
Lizzi Jordan (Guildford, Surrey) piloted by Danni Khan (Solihull, West Midlands) – WB 1,000m time-trial, WB individual pursuit, WB time-trial, WB road race
Sophie Unwin (Devon) piloted by Jenny Holl (Blair Drummond, Scotland) – WB 1,000m time-trial, WB individual pursuit, WB time-trial, WB road race
Women’s C1
Fran Brown (Truro, Cornwall) – C1-3 500m time-trial, C1-3 road race, C1-3 time-trial
Women’s C2
Daphne Schrager (Malmesbury, Wiltshire) – C1-3 individual pursuit, C1-3 road race, C1-3 time-trial
Women’s C4
Kadeena Cox (Leeds) – C4-5 500m time-trial, mixed team sprint
Women’s C5
Dame Sarah Storey (Disley, Manchester) – C5 time-trial, C4-5 road race
A total of around 220 athletes from 19 sports are expected to make up the British team that will compete in Paris, with further names to be announced by ParalympicsGB in the coming days. At Tokyo 2020, ParalympicsGB won medals across a record breaking 18 different sports – the highest number of any nation ever. ParalympicsGB finished second on the medal table with 124 medals overall, including 41 gold, 38 silver and 45 bronze.
With thanks to ParalympicsGB
