It has already been reported that on Friday Gailiš was overtaken by a lap in the C4-C5 group race in road cycling at the Paralympic Games in Paris, the Latvian finishing the competition in 18th position.
“I’m really frustrated today. It was cold for me. It was +14 in the morning, I like warmer weather. There was a tactic from the beginning to try to get away, but I had tried a very high speed at the beginning. We passed about five people in the third kilometer, but they didn’t let us go . In the first lap, everyone split,” explained Gailiš.
“Usually, when the competition starts, the pedal is on the floor, but this time no one was released at all,” the para-athlete continued.
The day before, Gailiš competed in the individual race and he admitted that he did not recover enough after the competition held on Thursday. “Today was not my day,” added the cyclist.
Gailiš pointed out that he has not raced with the C5 group in the World Cup and World Championship competitions for two or three years, but in the Paralympic Games, the C4 and C5 groups start together.
“The five riders in the C5 category are incomprehensible, but C4 is more predictable. Even the Slovak, who won the gold medal in the four kilometers on the track, stayed with me at the end,” said Gailiš.
“At the beginning there were six of us together. I felt pretty good on the hill and tried to ride in front there to keep my pace. Some dropped off and we stayed in the top three. The Indonesian who was riding with us didn’t work at all. At the end, at the start of the sixth lap, I left them alone “, said the Latvian.
Ukrainian Yehor Dementiev became the winner of the group race, who overtook second-placed Frenchman Kevin Lekenf in the finish sprint, while Martin van de Pol, the representative of the Netherlands, completed the top three. The four leading cyclists reached the finish line after two hours, 18 minutes and 59 seconds.
Gailišs already competed in the individual race in these Paralympic Games, winning 13th place. Paralympic Games debutant Gailiš also participated in track cycling competitions, where he took 23rd place in the individual race and 11th place in the pursuit.
The Paris Paralympic Games will end on September 8, with Latvians competing in athletics, paralympic dressage, cycling, swimming and shooting.
22 sports are represented at the Paralympic Games, in which about 4,400 athletes compete.
2024-09-07 19:51:29