U.S. Handcycling Federation
September 17, 2006
Aigle, Switzerland
True to form, Alejandro Albor (Elk Grove, CA) bounced back from disaster and won the World Championship road race Sunday in Aigle Switzerland by a convincing margin. After not being allowed to start Friday’s time trial — a race he was favored to win — the 40-year old was able to reverse his fortunes and took home his first official title as World Champion. Widely regarded as the best handcyclist in the world for the last 18 months, Alejandro had yet to scribe his name in the books as a true international champion, but that honor is now official. Albor joins Scott McNeice, Greg Hockensmith, Jim Harlan, and Monica Bascio as one of five world champions from the U.S. McNeice is the only double champion, winning both the road race and time trial in 1998. Hockensmith, Harlan, and Bascio all earned their glory in 2002 in Altenstadt, Germany where Harlan took the road race, Bascio and Hockensmith, the time trial. Although Albor is certainly happy with the win, it does leave the question: If he had been allowed to race the time trial, would he have captured the elusive “double” as McNeice did in 1998 ?
In a very similar situation at last year’s European Championships, Albor crashed in the road race….only to rebound and win the time trial the next day. Alejandro tends to excel when the odds are stacked against him. Throughout his six years racing in the U.S. and abroad, he has shunned criticism of his unique equipment and riding style. Never an official member of any major team besides the U.S. Paralympic Team, he makes his own bikes and usually keeps to himself at races. In his early years of racing, he was always in the lead group but couldn’t quite grab a victory as he battled with the likes of McNeice, Michel Bond, Craig Blanchette, and Carlos Moleda. In his first-ever trip to Alaska, he was with the leaders on day two and crashed spectacularly in to the tundra….only to get up and contest for 4th overall. The next few year’s would see similar crashes at numerous events — particularaly criteriums — as Albor worked on his equipment and technique. Throughout the seasons however, he was always on hand at the big races and was always the lone rider, fighting for position against teams like Invacare.
In 2004, something clicked for Albor. He arrived at the Rocky Mountain Omnium in Colorado (see adaptiveadventures.org) with a new bike and some awesome fitness. He dominated the event that year (also the National Championships), and won a silver medal at the Athens [Greece] Paralympic Games a few months later. He has been basically unbeatable ever since, including four victories at the Sadler’s Ultra Challenge in Alaska. Although it turns out to be the only handcycling medal for the U.S. at this year’s World Chamionships, it’s a biggie….and nobody deserves it more than Alejandro Albor.
For full event results, click HERE.
For more news on the World Championships, click HERE.
To visit Alejandro Albor’s website, click HERE.
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