Paralympics: Road Cycling – Silver double on the road: Rigling and Van Till on the podium – Sport

• Flurina Rigling wins silver in the C1-C3 category road cycling race at the Paralympics in Paris.
• A few hours later, Celine van Till (categories T1-T2) followed suit and also secured silver.
• Later, other Swiss athletes will be in action: the relay trio Benjamin Früh, Fabian Recher and Sandra Stöckli.

Flurina Rigling has another reason to celebrate after a tactical masterpiece. Nine days after winning bronze in the 3000 m pursuit on the track, the 27-year-old won silver in the 56.8-kilometer road race around Clichy-sous-Bois. In the final sprint, Rigling was only beaten by the Japanese Keiko Sugiura, but beat the American Clara Brown to bronze.

Rigling rode a tactically clever race. She mostly stayed at the back of a six-man leading group that had formed early on. On the descents, which are more difficult for her, she had to let the group go a little, but she always managed to catch up on the climbs.

The only C2 athlete in the leading group had the necessary reserves of strength in the final sprint. “Today luck was on my side in the final sprint,” said Rigling happily at the finish. In the time trial, the tenths were not on her side, as she missed bronze by 0.3 seconds.

Van Till also with 2nd medal

Almost three hours after Rigling, Celine van Till also won her second Paralympics medal in the road race. The 33-year-old from western Switzerland also won silver in the T1-T2 categories on the tricycle. In the field of six, Van Till was constantly in the four-man leading group on the two laps of the 14.2 km course.

In a thrilling finish in the last kilometer, she was only beaten by the Dane Emma Lund, who had the same time. Marieke van Soest, who had stood in front of Van Till in the time trial on Wednesday, was able to keep the Swiss athlete at bay. Van Till’s second personal silver medal is the 19th Swiss medal at the current Paralympics.