Paris 2024 Paralympics: Sarah Storey wins 19th gold in thrilling road race

Sarah Storey from Britain won her 19th Paralympic gold medal, setting a new record. She outpaced French cyclist Heidi Gaugain in an exciting sprint at the end of the cycling road race.

British female cyclists had a successful day as Sophie Unwin and her guide Jenny Holl secured victory in the women's B event. They managed to overtake Ireland's Katie-George Dunlevy in the final part of the race. Lora Fachie also put in a strong performance, earning a bronze medal.

This is Unwin's second gold medal and fourth overall in these Games. GB has now won a total of 21 medals in cycling at the Paris Games, with eight of them being gold.

Seven medals in cycling were won in road events, and they were all won by female cyclists.

Story, who is 46 years old, stayed close to the front of the pack in her 71km race. Towards the end, she and Gaugain, who is 27 years younger than her, pulled ahead of the other racers.

Storey pulled ahead of Gaugain in the last few corners, and finished just a few inches in front of her competitor at the line.

She raised her fists in celebration as she reached the finish line, then embraced her daughter Louisa, who was standing on the side of the road with the other members of Storey's family.

"I am thrilled that my wheel crossed the finish line first," Storey exclaimed. "It truly is incredible."

This marks Storey's 30th Paralympic medal, earned in two different sports and over the span of nine Paralympic Games since her debut in Barcelona 1992. It is also her 19th gold medal, making her the most successful British athlete in Paralympic history.

This is her 13th gold medal in cycling since changing from swimming, and her fourth in a row at the C4-5 road race in the Games.

Storey, who chose not to participate in track cycling events in Paris so she could concentrate on the road events, now has another gold medal to add to the time trial title she secured in Clichy-sous-Bois on Wednesday.

She was among the top runners during the race, along with 19-year-old Gaugain and Colombian rider Paula Ossa Veloza, who later won the bronze medal.

However, during the last round of the five-lap race, Storey and Gaugain pulled ahead from the rest of the pack - and the more seasoned rider ended up winning the race.

Then Storey revealed that she employed Gaugain's strategies against her to achieve a slight advantage.

"Just before finishing the race, my coach yelled 'next lap on the left'. I quickly checked our position to prepare for it," she explained. "Then he gave the command to 'go', and I followed suit."

"Heidi managed to get ahead for a short time, but it didn't worry me because I had speed on my side. I just needed to keep up with her as she started accelerating from a distance. That was the only strategy she could use, since I have a quicker sprint."

"Right before the finish line, that's when I made my move. She made a last attempt to catch up, but I pushed my bike and claimed victory."

This was the tightest race Storey has experienced in the Paralympic road race so far - she finished with a lead of over seven minutes in 2012 and over three minutes in 2016.

Three years ago in Tokyo, she won by only seven seconds, but this time the difference between her and second place was just a few inches.

But it confirms that Storey is the most successful Paralympian in Britain's history, and one of the most accomplished Para-athletes currently competing.

She will reach the age of 50 when the next Paralympics take place in 2028 in Los Angeles. However, Storey has not dismissed the possibility of competing for another gold medal and participating in her 10th Games.

"I can feel my glute muscles burning, I was a bit stiff before the race, but that's to be expected," she explained. "It's all about figuring out how to handle the challenges and advantages of aging as an athlete. I never thought I would compete in eight Olympics, let alone nine."

The important thing is not to fear losing a race. I need to have confidence in myself and trust my instincts. I was curious to see how I would react. I keep discovering new ways to come out on top, and I hope that continues.

In Los Angeles, she stated: "I want to savor this victory before thinking about what's next. I won't rule anything out. I just need some time to process it, this race was truly exceptional."

In the women's B road race, there was an exciting sprint to the finish line which resulted in another British cyclist winning the gold medal.

Dunlevy, the current Paralympic champion who had outperformed Unwin to win the gold in the time trial two days earlier, had been in the lead for most of the 99.4km route - but the 30-year-old British athlete was constantly close behind.

As the race neared the end, Unwin and Holl pushed harder and sprinted at just the right moment. The Irish riders couldn't keep up with them.

The British duo celebrated wildly and with tears of joy after winning with a three-second lead. Unwin now boasts a total of six Paralympic medals from Tokyo and Paris.

"I'm always feeling strong emotions! I'm astonished it has taken me this much time to shed tears like that," Unwin expressed. "It feels wonderful, Jenny was outstanding - she navigated that race flawlessly."

"We were aiming for those four medals, we believed we could achieve it but competition at the Games is always tough, so we are pleased that we were able to accomplish it."

"We have competed against these women many times and we are aware that they prefer to run alone," Holl commented on Dunlevy and pilot Linda Kelly. "However, they never want to challenge us to a fast finish. So throughout the race, our goal was to stay close to them.... If we were still in the competition with 500m remaining, we were confident in our performance."

Despite Storey and Unwin performing well, the men representing Great Britain faced challenges during the road cycling events.

In the men's C4-5 race, both Blaine Hunt and Archie Atkinson did not complete the race. Hunt, known for his sprinting skills, withdrew from the race after completing one lap of the seven-lap, 99.4km event after initially helping Atkinson get started.

Nevertheless, after experiencing a serious accident in the last round of his competition last week, Atkinson faced difficulties and eventually withdrew from the race around the middle point.

In the past, Stephen Bate had to pull out of the B road race because his partner, Chris Latham, was feeling sick.