Ernst van Dyk of South Africa denied Alessandro Zanardi a fourth Paralympic gold medal ©Twitter

Ernst van Dyk of South Africa denied Alessandro Zanardi a fourth Paralympic gold medal as he took victory in the men's road race H5 competition on an emotional day for the Italian in Rio de Janeiro.

Zanardi took to the roads of the Brazilian city on the 15th anniversary of his crash in an IndyCar race in Germany in 2001, which led to the loss of both of his legs, hoping to add the road race title to his time trial crown in the H5 hand-cycling discipline.

But it was the South African who emerged triumphant, crossing the line in 1hr 37min 49sec to finish at the summit of the podium as former Formula One driver Zanardi earned silver.

Jetze Plat of The Netherlands took home the bronze medal.

"I live a lot in the present, always thinking of the future, but I am very proud of my past, and I am someone who can go romantic," a poignant Zanardi said after the event.

"Sometimes I stop in front of my medals and think about what it took to get to that point. 

"But it is a symbol, it is not an object for which I care, I care much more about what that object means and all I had to do to get there."

It proved to be a successful day of road racing for Germany as they won three of the six gold medals on offer.

Andrea Eskau powered to the women's H5 crown in 1:06.21, with silver going to Dutchwoman Laura de Vaan and bronze to her compatriot Jennette Jansen.

Vico Merklein wrapped up the hat-trick of titles for the German team on day eight ©Twitter
Vico Merklein wrapped up the hat-trick of titles for the German team on day eight ©Twitter

"The race was not so fast," Eskau said.

"I would like it if it was faster. 

"Too slow, it was not a nice race for me, almost the worst race of my career."

World champion Christiane Reppe then followed in the footsteps of her team-mate by winning the H1-2-3-4 category with a time of 1:15.56 to ensure she banished the demons of a disappointing sixth place result in the time trial.

Lee Doyeon of South Korea was the recipient of the silver medal, while Francesco Porcellato added to the Italian cycling haul with bronze.

Vico Merklein then wrapped up the hat-trick of titles for the German team as he topped the podium in the men's H4 race.

The 39-year-old, winner of time trial bronze earlier on at the Games, crossed the line in 1:28.48 to take gold in front of time trial gold medallist Rafał Wilk of Poland.

Joel Jeannot of France came home in third place.

For a full breakdown of cycling results from day eight, visit our Live Blog here.