Dame Sarah Storey, Great Britain's most decorated Paralympian of all time, won a record-extending 18th Games gold medal with a fabulous run in the Women's C5 individual time trial on Wednesday morning.
The 46-year-old - who won her first Paralympics gold 32 years ago during the Barcelona 1992 Games - saw off the threat of French home favourite Heidi Gaugian, a rider 27 years her junior, to prevail in a time of 20:22.15.
Thanks to a phenomenal late surge, Storey pipped her teenage foe to the gold by just 4.69 seconds, while Australia's Alana Forster was further back in bronze with a time of 21:00.48.
Seeking a fifth straight C5 time trial crown after triumphing in the event at Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, Storey's crown appeared to be slipping off after a third of the 14.1km rice in Clichy-sous-Bois.
Indeed, the 46-year-old was over seven seconds behind Gaugian as the 6km mark approached, but Storey once again proved that age is just a number in the Paralympics as she powered her way to the top of the podium.
However, Storey could not hide her frustrations about the length of the course when speaking to the media after taking the Paralympic title, labelling the distance "appalling" and the "most disappointing" she has experienced at a Games so far.
Storey hits out at time trial course length after 18th Paralympics gold
Queen of the road.
— ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) September 4, 2024
Dame Sarah Storey. 18 gold medals in nine Paralympic Games.#ParalympicsGB 🇬🇧🥇 pic.twitter.com/6gSnxywFr5
""It's a short race. This is the shortest Paralympic time trial we have ever had, and I think it's a real shame because we don't get to showcase Para-sport in the way we want to," BBC Sport quotes Storey as saying.
"You'll have to ask organisers. There's plenty of time in the day for us to do two laps like the men. Having fought so hard for parity in women's cycling, to not have it is a real disappointment. I've had to put that aside and focus on what I could control, because I couldn't control the race distance. But I hope they never do this to the women again, because it has been appalling.
"It's a hilly 10km. I do lots of those at home so I have plenty of practice. But in championships you expect a race of minimum 22km, that's what we've done in all the other Paralympic Games.
"Look back to that incredible course in Beijing, Brands Hatch with all the fans, Rio was flat but longer, Tokyo we had the motor circuit, three laps, it was a real challenge. This has been the most disappointing in that sense, given what came before it."
Starting her Paralympics career in swimming - winning two golds in the pool in 1992 and three in 1996 - Storey transitioned to cycling after the 2004 Games and now has 29 medals in total, putting her joint-sixth in the all-time list.
The Briton will go for a 19th Paralympics gold and 30th podium finish in the women's road race on Friday.
Ben Knapton
