Bathed in brilliant sunshine under a clear blue sky, Spanish cyclist Javier Ochoa defended his gold in the men's 24.8km time trial of CP3 class.
It was almost as if Mother Nature was trying to make up for the blinding rain seven years ago when Ochoa, then a top able-bodied cycling professional, was hit by a car during training and went into coma.
Yesterday, he finished the race around the Beijing Paralympic road cycling course at the spectacular Ming Tombs Reservoir in Changping district in 37 min 26.47 sec, comfortably ahead of the competition.
Ochoa suffered an upset on Day 1 of track cycling when he was disqualified during the preliminary round of the individual pursuit of CP3 class for riding too close behind his opponent, Briton Darren Kenny, who had overtaken him.
Kenny stated that he was disappointed by the incident as he would have liked to compete against Ochoa in the final.
The two did get the chance yesterday, the first day of road cycling -- and the 34-year-old Spaniard dashed Kenny's dream of a fourth gold at the Games and Great Britain's dominance in road cycling after the track events.
Ochoa was ahead by nearly 12 sec, forcing Kenny into second place.
"To tell you the truth, I had no idea whatsoever about the time," said Ochoa. "It was after I had crossed the finish line, maybe two to five minutes later, then I realized I had won."
Ochoa was the first cyclist to defend his title from Athens. Jin Yong-sik from South Korea, with no road race form of note to talk of, snatched a surprise bronze medal in the same event.
"During the competition, I felt connected with my team, my coaches and my friends," Ochoa said.
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Spanish cyclist Javier Ochoa competes in the men's 24.8km time trial of CP3 class at the Beijing Paralympic Games, September 12, 2008.
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In the 2000 Tour de France, Ochoa won a heavy mountain stage on top of the Hautacam by beating Tour de France legend Lance Armstrong.
But in February 2001, a car hit him and twin brother Ricardo Ochoa during training. Ricardo died. Javier survived but was in a coma for a month and became severely disabled by cerebral palsy.
However, he continued cycling. In the 2004 Athens Paralympics, he won a gold in the road race time trial event and a silver in the individual pursuit.
"I faced a lot of difficulties, especially after all the rehabilitation I received," he said. "Of course, there are differences in terms of being a professional athlete, but what I would love to do more than anything is be able to participate in my sport, and be able to take part in my discipline and be part of the competition."
"However, one of the major differences is that we are not able to train as long and hard as other (able-bodied) athletes. Six hours of training is quite arduous for us. We can only train two to three hours at a time."
Ochoa, whose hobbies include Formula 1 and motorcycling as well as fishing and hunting, will compete in his last event today in the men's individual road race of LC3/LC4/CP3 class.
"There will be a lot eyes on me after my performance today and I am quite aware of all the rivals that I have. But I feel very, very well. Hopefully, we will win the gold in the road race."
Spain, along with the US and Britain, dominated the first competition day of road cycling, after the four-day track cycling events were almost monopolized by the Britons with nine gold medals and one silver.
Spaniard Cesar Neira won the gold in the men's individual time trial in CP4, while compatriots Christian Venge and pilot David Llaurado won the time trial in B&VI 1-3 class.
The US topped the medal tally yesterday with three gold, two silver and two bronze. Oz Sanchez, Karissa Whitsell and 52-year-old veteran Barbara Buchan won gold medals.
Britain trailed one medal behind Spain, but the three gold from Rachel Morris, David Stone and Sarah Storey were enough to secure Team GB's overall dominance.
