Cycling at the 2024 Summer Paralympics – Men's time trial B

Men's time trial B
at the XVII Paralympic Games
VenueVélodrome National, Paris
Dates1 September 2024
Competitors22 from 9 nations
Teams11
Winning time58.964
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) James Ball
Pilot: Steffan Lloyd
 Great Britain
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Neil Fachie
Pilot: Matt Rotherham
 Great Britain
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Thomas Ulbricht
Pilot: Robert Förstemann
 Germany
2020
2028

The men's time trial class B track cycling event at the 2024 Summer Paralympics took place on 1 September 2024 in the Vélodrome National, Paris. This class is for the cyclist who is blind or has visual impairments, they will then ride with tandem bicycles together with a sighted cyclist (also known as the pilot). There will be 11 pairs from 10 different nations competing.

Competition

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The 11 pairs were placed into their own heats individually (1 heat including a single 1 pair) where they performed a qualifying time trial. The six fastest pairs qualified for the gold final.

The B classification is described as follows:

  • Athletes who are blind or visually impaired. They compete using a two-person cycle known as a tandem, with a sighted "pilot" in the front seat. Under UCI rules, a professional cyclist must not be active for 12 months in any UCI professional tour (starting January 1 of the year) or be selected to any national team in a UCI-sanctioned championship, except Masters (over 40), in order to apply as a para-cycling pilot.

The gold and silver medalists from Tokyo returned. Neil Fachie, piloted by Matt Rotherham seeking a record third Paralympic title in the event in four appearances (having won silver in 2016), while James Ball, piloted by Steffan Lloyd sought to win his first.[1] World bronze medalist, Thomas Ulbricht, piloted by German Olympic legend Robert Förstemann sought to become the first German tandem to win the event.

In a close event, the three pre-race favourites qualified for the final, led by the German Ulbricht. In the final, however, the two British teams asserted themselves, with James Ball, piloted by Steffan Lloyd, taking their first Paralympic Games victory in the event over veteran Neil Fachie, piloted by Matt Rotherham, winning his second silver to go with his two previous golds in the event. Ulbricht and Förstemann could not match the British teams, but did not leave empty-handed, as they hung on to win a deserved bronze medal.

In doing so, Förstemann became one of the few cyclists to win both an Olympic Games medal and a Paralympic Games medal, 12 years after winning bronze in the team sprint at London 2012.

Schedule

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All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)[2]

Date Time Round
1 September 11:00 Qualifying
13:51 Final

Records

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At the commencement of the event the following world and Paralympic Games records were in place:[3]

Event Rcord Name Nationality Mark Location Date
Men's B 1000m Time Trial W.R. Neil Fachie
Pilot: Matthew Rotherham
 Great Britain 58.038 Tokyo 28 August 2021
P.R.

Results

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Qualifying

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Rank Heat Cyclists Nation Result[4] Notes
1 6 Thomas Ulbricht
Pilot: Robert Förstemann
 Germany 59.480 Q
2 5 James Ball
Pilot: Steffan Lloyd
 Great Britain 59.793 Q
3 5 Kane Perris
Pilot: Luke Zaccaria
 Australia 1:00.374 Q
4 6 Neil Fachie
Pilot: Matt Rotherham
 Great Britain 1:00.543 Q
5 4 Martin Gordon
Pilot: Eoin Mullen
 Ireland 1:01.158 Q
6 3 Kazuhei Kimura
Pilot: Kiaki Miura
 Japan 1:02.022 Q
7 4 Lorenzo Bernard
Pilot: Davide Plebani
 Italy 1:03.744
8 2 Branden Walton
Pilot: Spencer Seggebruch
 United States 1:04.080
9 3 Maximiliano Gómez
Pilot: Sebastián Tolosa
 Argentina 1:05.022
10 2 Damien Vereker
Pilot: Mitchell McLaughlin
 Ireland 1:06.740
11 1 Frederick Assor
Pilot: Rudolf Mensah
 Ghana 1:24.722

Final

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Rank Cyclists Nation Result[5] Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) James Ball
Pilot: Steffan Lloyd
 Great Britain 58.964
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Neil Fachie
Pilot: Matt Rotherham
 Great Britain 59.312
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Thomas Ulbricht
Pilot: Robert Förstemann
 Germany 59.862
4 Kane Perris
Pilot: Luke Zaccaria
 Australia 1:00.940
5 Martin Gordon
Pilot: Eoin Mullen
 Ireland 1:01.158
6 Kazuhei Kimura
Pilot: Kiaki Miura
 Japan 1:02.567

References

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  1. ^ "Paralympics schedule & day-by-day guide to key events & British medal hopes at Paris 2024". BBC Sport. 2024-08-25. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  2. ^ "Cycling Track – Competition Schedule" (PDF). COJOP. 26 August 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  3. ^ Records : Men's B time trial from Paris2024.org
  4. ^ "Para Cycling Track – Men's B 1000m Time Trial – Qualifying – Results" (PDF). Paralympics. 1 September 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  5. ^ "Para Cycling Track – Men's B 1000m Time Trial – Final – Results" (PDF). Paralympics. 1 September 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2024.