Men's LC2 cycling

(mainly below knee amputee)

by Paul Martin
(Natick, MA)

No great surprises in the title of "world's fastest one-legged cyclist." Jiri Jezek of the Czech Republic has been The Man since 2000. This week on the velodrome he won the individual pursuit, silvered in the kilo and earned a bronze with his countrymen in the team sprint. In the wee hours EST this morning he won a very decisive road time trial, as he did Athens.

Eduard Novak of Romania has been a contender on the road for the last half dozen years and his dedication came to fruition with a silver in the time trial ahead of Spain's favorite Paralympic cyclist, Roberto Alcaide.

USA's Ron Williams didn't enter any track races this year to focus on strong finishes on the road. He did well, certainly not to his standards, by placing 5th in the time trial. He's a strong trialer, but he's stronger still in the road race, which contends tomorrow.

Perhaps the most outstanding single performance in the LC2 class this week came from the magnificent Jody Cundy of Great Britain who annihilated the competition in the kilo. While Jezek was second with a time of 1:11:182 and Yuanchao Zheng of China third with a 1:11:198, Cundy posted a world record 1:05:466! USA's Dory Sellinger set a WR in 1998 of 1:10:603 which wasn't seriously challenged until Cundy debuted in 2006 with a time of 1:10:530 - on his walking leg! (All the serious riders these days compete with a dedicated cycling prosthesis.)