CLICHY-SOUS-BOIS - On the second day of road competition, the road race events at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games unfolded under relentless rain, turning the course into a treacherous route. The hazardous conditions tested every rider's physical and mental skills as they navigated slick surfaces and cold winds in a race of attrition.

Despite the difficulties, now 19-time Paralympic medalist Oksana Masters (Louisville, Kentucky) proved she is the master of her domain when she defended her gold medal glory after topping the podium in the same event at the Glasgow 2023 Road World Championships.

Masters established the lead early before the grueling contest narrowed down to four closely matched women’s H-5 riders, all fighting against the harsh conditions.

“I knew that I had to stay calm, relaxed and stay in my own race, and just put the hammer down on the climb when it came right before the finish,” Masters said.

In the closing lap, Masters surged ahead to find victory.

“I am so proud of my performance. It was an honest, hard-fought performance, and I’m so proud of the way I rode today for Team USA.”

As the first Team USA rider to brave the course in the men’s H1-2, Cody Wills (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) described the risky conditions.

“The course was pretty sketchy. A few of the downhills, where there’s painted sections, when it’s wet, you just slide.” Wills said. “I saw one of the guys on the first lap went straight into the fences, so I was being pretty cautious in some of those areas.”

The crash Wills witnessed was only the first of many takedowns caused by the weather. Two-time gold medal Paralympian Travis Gaertner (Burien, WA) experienced his run-in with the fence while competing in the men’s H4.

“I crashed, and I just battled back,” Gaertner said. “I didn’t even think. I just decided to push hard to see what happened, moment by moment, to see where the race would take me.

Gaertner’s efforts placed a top-three finish within reach, but, ultimately, he decided to ease back to ensure a safe end to the day.

Dawning the Team USA uniform for his first-ever Paralympic Games, ~~Brandon Lyons~~ (Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania) found value in the adversity, aiming to strengthen his abilities as a cyclist.

“I’ve never been on oily types of roads where wheels have skid out; that was my first time to experience that,” Lyons said. “As my first Games, I want to take it as a learning experience.”

Road races resume on Friday, Sept. 6. Catch all the action on Peacock, NBC, USA Network and CNBC.

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Team USA Medals

Oksana Masters: Gold, road race women’s H5

Additional Team USA Results

Travis Gaertner: 4th, road race men’s H4

Cody Wills: 5th, road race men’s H1-2

Brandon Lyons: 7th, road race men’s H3

Matt Tingley: DNF, road race men’s H4

Katerina Brim: DNS, road race women’s H1-4

Masters Conquers Ninth Gold and 19th Career Paralympic Medal

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