Preview: Australians ready for Ostend Para-cycling Road World Cup

04 May 2023 | 02:50 PMBy: Josh Davies

It’s race day at Round 2 of the 2023 UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Ostend, Belgium.

Thirteen Australians find themselves back on the beach, albeit a much colder one, on the Belgian coast north-west of Ghent.

Of those 13 Aussies, eight will don Australian Cycling Team colours, while the other five will compete as independently entered athletes.

There are two ins and one out for Ostend compared to the team in Maniago, with Kaitlyn Schurmann and Lauren Parker joining the squad in Belgium.

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Parker’s UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup debut on Day 1 is an exciting moment for the Paralympic para-triathlon silver medallist, who harbours ambitions of competing in both disciplines at Paris 2024.

Paralympic gold medallist Paige Greco has returned to Australia to recover after a crash during her time trial in Maniago. The 26-year-old is on the mend after suffering a fractured nose, concussion and receiving stitches.

The squad remained active over the weekend break from World Cup racing and competed at Ronde in Vlaanderen, the para-cycling classics edition of the Tour of Flanders.

Darren Hicks led the way for the green and gold at the finish in Ronse, winning his C2 category over perennial rival Ewoud Vromant.

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The South Australian was ecstatic about his victory and said it provides a huge confidence boost for Ostend.

“After such a close finish in Italy two weeks ago, to have another sprint finish with Ewoud, and even up the score felt pretty satisfying,” Hicks said.

“But putting the win aside for a second, just the fact that para-cycling is evolving to the point where we are now getting a shot at some truly iconic races deserves to be celebrated.

“I mean, seriously, I get to say I've won the Tour of Flanders - that's unreal!”

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Hicks left Maniago with two silver medals, but it’s the top step the South Australian wants most.

“A win in the time trial is what I'm focused on right now and once we get through that I can reevaluate things and hopefully start to dream about winning the road race too,” Hicks said.

“Ostend may seem straightforward on paper, and the out and back long straight in theory is. But being that we race right on the beach, the wind is a huge factor, so managing your effort is a big challenge.

“Then the more technical section of the race has three or four different road surface changes, as well as tight corners, so that poses its challenges.

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“It's a tough road race course for a solo breakaway, so my gut says we will be sprinting again for the medals.

“It's a course I've really enjoyed in the past and it's where I got my first international win, so there's a little extra motivation just in that.”

Racing begins on Thursday with H1-5 and T1-2 time trials, followed by C1-5 and tandem time trials on Friday, and then road races on Saturday and Sunday.