Metelka maintains winning streak as Yverdon-les-Bain Para-cycling Road World Cup ends

Several cyclists continued their winning streak on the final day in Yverdon-les-Bains ©UCI Para-cycling/Twitter

Slovakia’s Jozef Metelka maintained his winning streak in the men’s C4 classification of the International Cycling Union (UCI) Para-cycling Road World Cup, by securing his second gold medal on the final day of the three-day event in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland.

Metelka had won the time trial discipline on the opening day of the World Cup, but was forced to work hard for his second victory, as he eventually prevailed in a sprint finish against Russia’s Sergey Pudov and Colombia’s Diego German Duenas Gomez to win the road race.

The Slovakian finished level nudged ahead of his rivals to earn his fourth gold of this World Cup season, with all three men finishing in 1hour 34min 01sec.

Shawn Morelli of the United States was also a multiple winner in the Swiss city as the reigning world champion in the women’s C4 classification as she finished six minutes clear of her nearest challenger to take gold.

Just as Metelka and Morelli had done, Poland’s Anna Harkowska recorded her fourth straight victory of the season by beating Germany’s Kerstin Brachtendorf by just 9sec in the women’s C5 road race, while Canada’s Nicole Clermont was 5min 4sec adrift but earned the final podium finish.

The next Para-cycling Road World Cup event is due to be held in Germany in July ©UCI Para-cycling/Twitter

Germany’s Michael Teuber bounced back from the disappointment of a third place finish in the last C1 road race at the Mainago World Cup in Italy, by winning this time round in Switzerland.

He broke away from his compatriot Erich Winkler and Spain’s Juan Joes Mendez before posting a time of 1:20.46 at the close of the race, while Mendez finished 42sec down to take silver.

Winkler eventually was forced to win a sprint for bronze as both he and America’s Matthew Bigos finished in 1:21.56.

Poland and The Netherlands enjoyed success in tandem events as the Iwona Podkoscielna and her pilot Aleksandra Wnuczek won the women’s race in 2:13.18, with the Polish duo finishing 3:44 ahead of Dutch duo Odette Van Deudekom and Kim Van Dijk.

However the Dutch could celebrate victory in the men’s event as Vincent Ter Schure and pilot Timo Fransen sprinted to victory in 2:20:36, with Spain’s Carlos Gonzalez Garcia and Noel Martin Infante taking silver, while Poland’s Marcin Polak and Michal Ladosz took bronze after all three pairs finished on the same time.

The next stage of the World Cup is due to take place in Germany, with Elzach set to host the world’s best para-cyclists from July 24 to 26.