Paralympic cyclists win at European Cup

Tuesday 27 May 2008

For Immediate Release

Paralympic cyclists win at European Cup

The tandem pairing of Jayne Parsons and Annaliisa Farrell have ridden a strong race in the lead up to the Paralympic Games in Beijing to win the gold medal in the time trial at a European Cup race in Correze, France over the weekend.
 
The New Zealand pair finished the time trial with a 15 second margin over the strong German tandem pairing with a further 30 seconds back to the Spanish team. This result had Jayne and Annaliisa finishing the round in 3rd place following the road race the day before.
 
The road race was held in atrocious conditions, Jayne and Annaliisa took a cautious approach when it came to the downhill. They were faced with the opportunity to push with the German team or take the safer option. “I let them go, the road was wet and to me it wasn’t worth it,” Annaliisa said.
 
This result shows the months of commitment paying off as they are looking sharp heading into the important part of the season with the Paralympic Games beginning on September 6th in Beijing. Jayne, who is blind as a result of domestic violence, has moved from Wellington to live in Christchurch so she can be closer to the home of her sighted tandem partner, Annaliisa, who is the pilot .
 
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