All over bar the shouting

The 2010 World Track Para Cycling Championships are over. Yes, that's right these championships were officially the 2010 edition after they were postponed from late last year.

Montichiari must be sad to see us go because the weather has turned very un-Spring-like, with howling winds and lashing rain! It made packing all the bikes and gear into the truck a lovely soggy job, but that's how it goes.

But enough talk of the weather, and on to what you've really tuned in for - the final wrap up of competition.

This afternoon we had the Women's C4 500m Time Trial. Sue was our great hope in this event and didn't fail to please, with a gutsy ride on a near empty fuel tank to finish with a silver medal, beaten for gold by the Chinese world record holder in this event. Neither rode anywhere near their personal best times, indicative of how the weather impacts on performance.

The new kid on the block, Alex, finished sixth, but managed to go very close to, or possibly better, her PB, showing a glimpse of what we have to look forward to in the future.

Jayme rode her 500m TT solo again, with no other entries in her category. In a fine performance as Australia's last appearance on the track, she was only 1.5 seconds off the world record. Hopefully she'll have some opposition in the future so that her achievements can be formally recognised.

Here are the results for each team member, in no particular order other than ladies first, of course:

Felicity and Stephanie (tandem) - Gold medal 1000m TT, 11th place 3km pursuit
Alex (C4) - Bronze medal 3km pursuit, 6th place 500m TT
Jayme (C1) - 1st 3km pursuit, 1st 500m TT
Brandie and Kerry (tandem) - 8th 1000m TT, 6th 3km pursuit
Sue (C4) - Gold medal 3km pursuit, Silver medal 500m TT, 8th team sprint

Bryce and Sean (tandem) - 10th 1000m TT, Bronze medal 4km pursuit
Kieran and Scott (tandem) - 9th 1000m TT, Gold medal and world record 4km pursuit
Michael (C5) - Gold medal and world record 4km pursuit, 12th 1000m TT, 8th team sprint
Andrew (C2) - Silver medal and (briefly) world record 1km TT, 8th team sprint

So that's it from me for this trip. We leave Montichiari at 7am tomorrow for the long haul home. Thanks for checking in and I hope everyone enjoyed the reports as much as I enjoyed putting them together.

I'll leave you with a few final photos from the last day of competition and a big thank you to Hotel Faro for the excellent internet access that's made this blog possible.

Ciao, ciao.

Guess where we've been...

Australia starting the C1-5 combined Team Sprint

Our final medal of the Championships - Sue Powell, silver, Women's C4 500m Time Trial