Wilmslow-based pilot cyclist Craig MacLean scooped gold at the Paralympics after Sunday’s thrilling tandem sprint final in London.
MacLean and his partner, partially-sighted Anthony Kappes, got the better of Neil Fachie and his pilot, Barney Storey in the all-Paralympics GB final, a best-of-three affair that went their way 2-0.
Victory represented a semblance of redemption for MacLean and Kappes, after their 1km time-trial disappointment on day three.
Then, two mechanical mishaps saw them fail to finish as Fachie and Storey took the gold.
Further evidence of their dominance came in that morning’s qualifying, when MacLean and Kappes set a new world record for the 200m flying lap, their 10.050 seconds beating the 10.165 set by Fachie and Storey in the previous ride which earned them a straight passage to the semi-finals.
MacLean, 41, who won an Olympic silver in the Sydney Games in 2000, said: "It would have been nice to be celebrating the double, but I suppose we’ve redeemed ourselves a little bit. It’s always nice to win."
It was a second tandem sprint title in a row for Kappes after he was partnered to glory by Storey in Beijing four years ago.
Kappes and MacLean led from the start to win the first race and in the second race, Fachie and Storey led off the line and as the pace quickened, Kappes and MacLean swooped from the high banking and they powered away to take gold, leaving Fachie to concede: "Those guys were better than us today. They came out after yesterday’s disappointment and showed what they could do."
