Watson taking positives away from Paris 2024 Paralympics
Ben Watson is taking power positives away from Paris 2024 after a fifth-place finish in the road race.
The 35-year-old won gold in both the road race and time trial at Tokyo 2020 but was left short of the podium in Paris with fourth and fifth place finishes.
It was not quite the Paralympics the Glossop-native was hoping for, despite his power wattage on the bike being much higher than what was needed for double victory three years ago.
But after helping teammate Fin Graham to road race gold on the streets of Paris, Watson admitted that he could only marvel at how much the sport has improved in such a short period of time.
"I just didn't quite have it when I needed it today," said Watson, who is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support – which has been vital on their pathway to the Paris 2024 Games.
"When [the breakaway] went the second time, I didn't have the legs to follow but in no man's land, me and Jaco [van Gass] worked really well together.
"On a personal note, I've had a fourth and fifth place finish so it isn't quite as good as it was in Tokyo but the power numbers and performances are so much higher which is good.
"It just shows how much the racing has come on. It's great to see."