Gold Medal For Tesoriero

Wellington’s cycling gold medalist from the Beijing Paralympics, Paula Tesoriero has again proven she is one of the world’s best, winning gold in the 500m time trial at the Paralympic World Cup this morning in Manchester in a time of 43.417 seconds, just shy of her 43.237 world record time in Beijing.

“It’s great to still be at the top of my game” said Tesoriero. “This competition is my first big international event since Beijing and I didn’t come here expecting to do a time that was so close to my world record,” she said. Tesoriero rode a new bike in Manchester, custom built for her small frame in the United States, but designed through a range of lab testing in New Zealand.

Tesoriero was invited to the BT Paralympic World Cup following her success in Beijing as organisers tried to get the best riders from around the world to compete. She is also competing in the Individual Pursuit as well as attempting to break her own world record in the Flying 200 Start which she set two months ago at the New Zealand Track Championships in Invercargill.

Tesoriero’s will compete in the Road World Championships in Italy in September and the Track World Champs in Manchester in November where she has her sights set on world champion jersey in the 500m time trial.“ Although I am the Paralympic Champion which is the highest achievement in my sport, there is something alluring about the jersey in cycling, so I really want it to go alongside the gold Paralympic medal, said Tesoriero.

Tesoriero won gold in the 500m time trial at the Beijing Paralympic Games and two bronze medals - 3000m Individual Pursuit and the Individual Road Time Trial.