CYCLING: Paralympian Sam Ruddock fourth in world cycling championships

Double paralympian Sam Ruddock just missed out on a medal in the 2020 Para Cycling Track World Championships in Milton, Canada, last week.

He was fourth in his favoured event, the kilo time trial, in his first major championships on two wheels.

The former Bishop Wulstan and Rugby School student was the only new face in Great Britain’s 23-strong squad. Gaining experience in the MC1 pursuit, he clocked 4:29.747 which put him in 13th.

It meant no medal ride in a highly competitive event, which saw the three fastest times in history all recorded in the morning’s qualification session.

In the four-lap kilo, over 1000m, the gold medallist Zhangyu Li from China set a new world record of 1:11.166. Sam clocked 1:16.671 behind China’s Weicong Liang in 1:12.944 and bronze medallist Ricardo Ten Argiles from Spain in 1:15.322.

Reflecting, Sam said: “ The kilo was very bittersweet. Yes, it was a new PB by two seconds, but it should be two seconds quicker.

“I pushed too early out of the gate and as a resut my opening lap wasn’t as quick as I needed it to be. I have been pipped by a second for the bronze and so to finish fourth with nothing is pretty horrible, but it means we can push on and if I execute my race in the right way it won’t happen again.

“I’m learning all the time, every day is a school day. This has been the best fun and the team have been really supportive. It’s been amazing to be in this environment, and I feel really welcomed.

“I got one thing wrong and unfortunately it’s cost me, but when you learn from a mistake, it’s never a mistake, it’s something you can build upon.

“With Tokyo on the horizon, I am capable of going faster.”

In the past two Paralympics, in London and Rio as an athlete, Sam was a sprinter and then a shot putter.