Lowveld paracyclists dream big after success
Gary Coetzee and Gavin Cowden won gold medals in their categories' time trials at the SA National Road Championship in KwaZulu-Natal last week.
Two local paracyclists are dreaming big these days, and they have reason to be optimistic.
Gary Coetzee (33) and Gavin Cowden (46) both won two medals at the South African National Road Championship in KwaZulu-Natal last week. Based on those results, they now stand the chance to be selected for the national team.
Coetzee, with a C4 classification, won a gold medal in the time trial on Wednesday and got another first place in the road race the next day. Cowden, riding in the C5 classification, also won a gold medal in the time trial, and a silver in the road race.
In the road race on Thursday in Wartburg, both C4 and C5 classes completed three laps around the 24-kilometre time-trial route, with a total distance of just over 70 kilometres and a 1000-metre ascent.
It was the first time that each even participated in the championships, and their achievements caused paracycling commission director of Cycling SA, Mike Burns to single out the two riders for their competitiveness.
“I’m looking forward to seeing these new riders take shape,” he added.
Coetzee says he has been participating in road cycling for a year. He used to be into rugby and cricket, but since an accident injured the muscles, tissues and nerves in his left leg, he can’t run any longer.
He took up mountain biking as a hobby at the urging of his father, Gary Sr, and switched to road cycling about a year ago.
With his two gold medals in his category it is expected that he will be selected for the national team which would compete at the first UCI World Cup in Pietermartizburg in May.
“If all goes well I may be able to qualify for the Paralympic Games in four years,” he said.
Cowden is also new to road cycling, and he said it was a huge adjustment from mountain biking. The technique in the time trial and tactics in the road race are a lot different, he said.
“After my good friend Pieter Heyns Sr encouraged me to compete as a paracyclist as he had a friend who also had a drop foot and had been to the Paralympics, I got provisionally classified last August as a C5 and my classification was confirmed in November. I then took up road cycling and had to learn two new disciplines, time trial and road racing.”
In his road race he was beaten by the more-experienced Dane Wilson. Cowden said their was a lot of competition in his, the veteran category.
Cowden got a drop foot after a back operation. He wasn’t very active before.
“I had a bad lifestyle. I developed insulin resistance and to keep the weight off took up cycling. Now he has aspirations to represent his country in his sport. “It is an opportunity to compete at an international level with guys with a similar disability.”
He said it was inspiring to see the sheer determination of paracyclists in classes with severe disabilities. “I feel both humbled and honoured to have competed and particpated and to have shared a common love of cycling with fellow competitors.”
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