The head of French para-cycling predicted it. “In road races, some days you will see two or three gold medals. “, announced Laurent Thirionet, on Sunday 1Ahem September. The Paralympic track events had just finished. With seven medals, including two gold, the Blues left the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome with a sense of accomplishment, despite some disappointments.
On Wednesday, September 4, they rode again to “be a success”According to the director, a crazy day, one of the richest in the history of French Paralympic sport. On a circuit designed around Clichy-sous-Bois, in Seine-Saint-Denis, the tricolors won eleven medals, four of them gold, during the various time trials that took place throughout the day. In the press room or in the stands, you had to pinch yourself to believe it. “It is not possible, welcomed Mathieu Jeanne, national coach. All the time was perfectly managed. It is thanks to the work that it paid off. »
on this day “dream”France had two doubles. Kevin Le Cunff, 36, beat his compatriot Gatien Le Rousseau, who had kept him off the podium on the track. The new Paralympic champion in the C4 time trial, a category in which athletes with unilateral tibial amputation or neurological disorders compete, was then in doubt. “There are two Olympic Games and four chocolate medals. [4e place], he lamented. I think athletics is not a discipline for me. I don’t want to go back to a velodrome anymore. I’m an outdoor guy, so I’ll stay outdoors. »
“Relieved” by his performance
Under a spring sky, three days later, he won “in a technical course that [lui] fit well.” he said to himself ” relieved ” for the level of his performance, but not only: with the bonus of 80,000 euros that accompanies his gold medal, Kevin Le Cunff “so you can redo your roof and get through the winter dry”.
The cyclist was born with two club feet. “That is, the other way around, He explained to World a few weeks before the start of the Games. When I was a child I walked with my heels not touching the ground. I was very confined. Today, for the same reason, we had surgery almost at birth. » For him, it was at the age of 11.
the bicycle, “along with a long list of banned sports,” It was the only sporting activity that Kevin Le Cunff, also suffering from atrophied calf, was allowed to do. He then took up mountain biking. “for the fun side” and the pleasure of evolving in natural environments. “When I was running in the mountains, I could see that I was getting tired faster than the others. In fact, I pedal almost exclusively with my thighs. » But on the downhills he feels absorbed by the gradient, exalted by the sensation of speed. He races with able-bodied cyclists, first as a cadet and then as a junior. He even wins some races. “I took to the road to improve my mountain biking skills and then got a taste for it.”
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