Paralympics: Emma Foy, Hannah van Kampen eclipse own world record in Canada

Golden girls Hannah van Kampen (left) and Emma Foy autograph shirts after retaining their women's tandem individual pursuit para cycling world crown in Milton, Canada. Photo / Photosport

Stoker Emma Foy and pilot Hannah van Kampen have found form and consistency to show they are peaking just nicely for the Tokyo Paralympics in Japan later this year.

Foy, of Dargaville, and Van Kampen, of Hastings, not only retained their women's tandem individual pursuit world crown but beat their world record time by 0.1 seconds during the qualifying round of the 2020 UCI para cycling track world championship at Milton, in Ontario , Canada, on Friday (NZ time).

"It was awesome," said Van Kampen of the pair who are based in Cambridge. "It was a qualifying ride but it was probably the best ride we've ever done."

The 26-year-old said they had the potential to perhaps ride a little faster in the 3km, 12-lap title-winning race but found themselves a little stuck behind British stoker Lora Fachie and pilot Corrine Hall in the last lap although they had won by more than seven seconds.

"Ultimately we did beat our previous time so we're pretty stoked with that," said the Hawke's Bay Ramblers Cycling Club member.

It was the pair's second consecutive world championship titles on the track.

It's heads down and bums up as Hannah van Kampen (front) and Emma Foy show the pace that saw them eclipse their world record by 0.1s earlier in the qualifying round. Photo / Photosport

Foy and Van Kampen had clocked a world record 3m 20.819s in the qualifying round, eclipsing the 3:20.80 they had set in Brisbane in December last year.

Kiwi assistant coach Dr Damian Wiseman told the UCI Twitter site: "Emma and Hannah had a great day today riding one of the best pursuits collectively and technically that they have executed in competition so far. They rode the most consistent lap times that we've seen out of them and given that they are the current world record holders to come out and deliver a ride that was underneath their most recent world record time was just a reflection of how perfectly they executed their ride."

The Kiwis clocked 3:23.163 to claim gold in the final. The Ireland tandem pair of stoker Katie-George Dunlevy and pilot Eve McCrystal had to settle for a silver medal with a time of 3:31.396 while the Belgium combination of stoker Griet Hoet and pilot Anneleen Monsieur clinched bronze from the British pair.

Foy and Van Kampen claimed a bronze medal in the women's four-lap, 1km women's tandem time-trial race the next day, clocking 1:07.352.

The British pair of stoker Sophie Thornhill and pilot Helen Scott clinched the gold medal in a time of 1:04.953, ahead of the Dutch combination of stoker Larissa Klaassen and pilot Imke Brommer who came in at 1:06.984.

"We didn't do the fastest time that we've ever done but we're a bit tired from racing the day before although the time-trial is usually our first event," said Van Kampen after emulating their feat last year.

While Foy and Van Kempen aren't sprint specialists they were "simply delighted" to make it onto the podium, although they had the potential to improve their time in that discipline which also is on the Paralympics agenda.

They spent a week in Milton after preparing for the championships in Invercargill.

"It's always good to be together with the rest of the team and be focused on the same goals, which is nice because we call all support each other," Van Kampen said.

"Ultimately the biggest goal this year is Tokyo."

The Paralympics will be staged from August 25 to September 26.

The smile of satisfaction is written all over the faces of Pilot Hannah van Kampen (left) and stoker Emma Foy at the UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships. Photo / Photosport

"Everything went 100 per cent well so we're looking forward to bringing our best possible selves [to Tokyo]."

She said while they still had a lot of work to do she and Foy were very excited about improving their times because they loved training together.

Foy has visual impairment due to congenital ocular cutaneous albinism. Van Kampen is the sighted pilot who rides on the front of the tandem bike.

In September last year the Kiwi pair claimed gold and silver medals at the UCI Para Cycling Road World Championships in the Netherlands.

The won the women's 81.4km BV1 road race in a photo finish against Dunlevy and McCrystal.

Van Kampen, who has trained and found inspiration growing up in the Bay with 1972 Munich Olympics Robert Oliver and Ivar Hopman, is bound for Hastings where she hopes to visit mother Vanessa and father Paul who are former Ramblers riders. Her brothers Finn and Oliver also are club members.

Hannah van Kampen is an old girl of Taiukra Rudolf Steiner School where her father is a hard materials technology teacher.

While the tracks in Milton were heated Canada was in the grips of a testing winter.

"I woke up this morning and it's snowing today but it's an awesome experience because I've never experienced it before," she said. "I'll be back home tomorrow so that'll be nice.

With a two-week break from the saddle of the bike, Van Kampen was looking forward to thawing in the mid-30C climes of the Bay.

"Hopefully I'll be able to make it to the beach, which will be nice."

Emma Foy (left) and Hannah Van Kampen savour gold with Irish pair Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal and Belgians Griet Hoet and Anneleen Monsieur. Photo / Phosport