Jody Cundy raring to add cycling gold to impressive medal haul at eighth Paralympic Games

By James Toney in Paris

British track cyclist Jody Cundy has a new paint job on his racing prosthetic leg as he prepares to add to his tally of Paralympic medals.

A bold '8' at knee height denotes his eight gold medals and his eighth Paralympic Games here in Paris, his first appearance as a 17-year-old swimmer in Atlanta where he won butterfly gold.

Now a mainstay of the British cycling team, following his sports switch in 2006, the 45-year-old from Wisbech is confident he will add more medals to his collection.

After all, he has a new bike, new training equipment, and even wings - these ones painted around the No.8 on his leg and inspired by the video game 'The Legend of Zelda'.

“It's one of my favourite games," said Cundy, 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.

"He [the character Link] has these little Pegasus boots with wings and they make him go fast. Now they are my little Pegasus boot.”

His new bike was inherited from Team GB’s Olympic cyclists after they debuted them three years ago in Tokyo

Another recent addition is the use of a wind tunnel facility opened by the Great Britain Cycling Team in Manchester, Cundy knowing first hand the benefits of National Lottery funding, with £130m spent on the sport in the last three decades - an investment rewarded with domination at the velodrome.

“Every rider has been in the tunnel to optimise their position. It takes a lot of discipline to hold that position as you're riding around the track,” he added.

Cundy is looking forward to racing in the men's C4-5 1000m time trial, in which he claimed gold at Rio 2016 and silver at Tokyo 2020.

But he is expecting tough competition, especially from teammate Blaine Hunt, Spanish defending champion Alfonso Cabello and home hope Dorian Foulon.

“I’m feeling pretty confident," he said.

"I had a really good block of training in the last six months and a lot of it has come together. This is probably going to be the best one-kilometre chart I've been involved in. It'll be a really good one to watch, but maybe not so much to ride!”

This will be the Wisbech-athletes fifth Paralympic Games as a cyclist after competing in three others as a swimmer. Last year, he added one more competition to his resume, having danced on the British TV show 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

Cundy is sure the seven-week experience and the seven-hours-a-day training made him a better rider. He got eliminated from the competition after the fourth week.

“It was intense,” he added.

“There were bits from the dance that actually transferred over, mainly in the gym, with balance and coordination. I came back to the gym and I was stronger, even though I'd not lifted for a few weeks, from doing the dancing. I had more core stability. That was a real nice gain.”

With more than £30M a week raised for Good Causes, including vital funding into elite and grassroots sport, National Lottery players support our Olympic and Paralympic athletes to live their dreams and make the nation proud, as well as providing more opportunities for people to take part in sport. To find out more visit: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk