Aussies Petricola, Forster claim para-cycling gold

Australia's Emily Petricola has retained her world title in the women’s C4 individual pursuit. (PR HANDOUT IMAGE PHOTO)

Para-cyclists Emily Petricola and Alana Forster have trebled Australia's gold medal haul at the world cycling championships in Glasgow.

Petricola defended her title in the women's C4 individual pursuit, then Forster won an surprise gold in the C5 scratch race.

Australia also won silvers on Monday in the men's BMX freestyle through Logan Martin, and in the women's madison with Alexandra Manly and Georgia Baker.

There was also a bronze for Gordon Allan in the C2 sprint time trial, but compatriots Beau Wooten and Byron Davies crashed out in the B sprint bronze medal decider.

The Olympic champion and world record holder Petricola easily pulled away from Canada's Keely Shaw in the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome to win her third rainbow jersey in the event, and her ninth world title in total.

"We've had a long wait between the heat and the final - five days is a long time to sit around watching everyone else race," she said.

"I felt really strange all day, not sure what to do with myself, so I am just relieved I got through it and I get to go home with another rainbow jersey."

Now 43, the former Melbourne schoolteacher was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 27. In 2015, encouraged by former Olympic rower Matt Ryan, then ex-Olympic cyclist Shane Kelly, she took up para-cycling and by 2018 was competing, and winning silver and bronze at the worlds.

She has to deal with constant fatigue, overheating, tremors in her arms and legs, foot drop on the left side and tingling and nerve pain in her limbs.

If Petricola's success was to an extent expected, Forster's was a surprise.

A practising medical doctor and former road cyclist, she was only cleared to compete in para-cycling in March after recovering from serious injuries incurred in a car accident in which she broke her pelvis, femur, patella, ulna bones and a number of ribs.

"I'm quite new to track," said Forster after her win, in which she surprised the peleton by taking off early and staying clear.

"I've watched quite a lot but I am not a sprinter so it was quite tactical," she added.

The success of Petricola and Forster follows victory for Amanda Reid in the C2 500 metres time trial on Sunday.

In the women's madison Manly and Baker took an unexpected silver, narrowly edged out by Britain 28 points to 25 in a typically chaotic race.

In the BMX freestyle competition there was a silver medal for Olympic champion Logan Martin behind Britain's Kieran Reilly.

"I’m stoked on this one. The level of riding now is crazy, so to still be up there on the podium is still a special feeling," said Martin.

The 22-year-old Reilly nailed his second run to score 95.80. Martin's first run of 93.56 put him third, but his second was delayed by rain with 2022 world champion Rimu Nakamura also still to ride.

After that was mopped up Nakamura climbed into fourth. Martin (95.30) then produced a superb ride to lift him above American Nick Bruce into silver, but left him agonisingly short of a third world title by half a point.

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