Picture by Fédération Française Handisport
19 years old and already all the makings of a great cyclist. Heïdi Gaugain, at ease on any bike and in any peloton, has set her sights high, and it doesn't matter that Paris 2024 is her first Paralympic Games, the young athlete is aiming for the top.
"Taking part in the Paris 2024 Games is a dream that is about to come true. I'm confident about my sporting level, so my ambition is to finish on the podium in all the events I take part in", she confided at a press conference organised 40 days before her opening race. This will start on the track at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome, then on the road on September 4 and 6 with the individual time trial and the road race. And it's all about these road races that we'll focus on today.
Isn't it a bit presumptuous to claim one or more Paralympic medals for her first appearance at the Games? As far as Heïdi is concerned, the simple answer is no. Brought up in the rhythm of cycle racing - her father is the president of a cycling club - she began competing on the road with the able-bodied. Whether or not she had agenesis of the left forearm, the young cyclist was determined to perform, regardless of her rivals. In 2018, she also took part in her first Para-cycling races. Her qualities immediately helped her to stand on the podium (she won several national titles), opening the doors to the French national team.
Picture by Fédération Française Handisport
Fitted with specially adapted handlebars to link her prosthesis to her bike, Heïdi clocks up mile after mile in her native Mayenne, as well as in the south-west of France, where she has just completed her first year at the university, and also in Roubaix, where the French national team is training on the track. With the help of a mental coach, she is now ready to take on the Paralympic road course around Clichy-sous-Bois this summer. In her category (C5), she will be trying to win a medal against one of her idols, Sarah Storey, who has won 28 Paralympic medals in her career, including 17 gold.
C5 is the category in which Heïdi Gaugain competes. This abbreviation corresponds to one of the categories found in Para cycling. There are 14 in total, divided into 4 disability families: visual impairment, cerebral palsy, motor disabilities and orthopaedic disabilities.
You'll be able to see 4 different types of bike in the road events (which are different from the track events): a standard bike with the option of a few disability-related modifications; a handbike for people with spinal cord injuries or who have had one or both lower limbs amputated; a tricycle for athletes with motor and balance problems; and a tandem bike for visually impaired riders accompanied by a guide.
Para-cycling is classified firstly according to the bike used, depending on the disability. This corresponds to a letter:
H = Handbike
T = Tricycle
C = Cycle
VI or B = Visually Impaired or Blind (tandem)
And then a number to define the impact of the impairment: H1 to H5 / T1 to T2 / C1 to C5, 1 being the highest degree of disability, 5 the lowest.
We need to note that, depending on the category, the distance to be covered in the race will be different.
Both an Olympic and Paralympic cyclist (she dreams of taking part in the Olympic Games one day), Heïdi Gaugain is the perfect example to show that these disciplines are pretty similar. Whether in one or the other, endurance, punch, the science of racing and mental strength are the ingredients needed to go for gold and beat the other competitors in the peloton. To do that, the Frenchwoman will have to be the fastest on the demanding circuit offered by Paris 2024. "I'll have to be tactically strong because Para cycling races are less unbridled than those for able-bodied athletes. Medals often tend to come down to the sprint. And just because I'm up there with the best able-bodied cyclists doesn't mean I'm guaranteed to win a medal with the para cyclists!"
Despite her young age, Heïdi has already made a name for herself in the sport. Or should we say sports, since she races on both road and track in the Olympic and Paralympic categories. In the able-bodied category, she distinguished herself this year by winning a bronze medal at the French U23 championships. This performance comes on top of the two medals she won in Glasgow at the 2023 Para-cycling Championships. These excellent results bode well for the future, as the woman from Laval is already looking ahead to the Los Angeles Games in 2028!
Picture by Fédération Française Handisport
Find out all about Para road cycling