|
|
I was tasked with organising an Exhibition handcycle race on the final stage of the Tour of Britain. This was to be a short ½ hr slot on the circuit around Westminster (taking in Parliament, Whitehall and Trafalgar Square) a couple of hours before the pro-riders depart.
|
|
|
The race had to be shortened to just four laps which made it just over 4 miles, so it was in effect a sprint and surprisingly it was won by Monique Van der Vorst the current Women’s World and European Champion. She beat the Austrian rider Elmar Sternath to the line.
|
The 100,000+ crowd around the circuit made the race a spectacle and the presence of BBC TV cameras will have ramifications for the sport in the near term. There was a short but very heartening section of the BBC2 Grandstand coverage on the race and it painted our sport in a very good light.
I’d just like to make a personal thank you to all those who took part in our events this year. It’s clear now that handcycling in the UK is moving in the right direction. We’ve made a sufficient enough impression that I hope next years EHC race will be on the streets of Westminster village.
|