APELDOORN, THE NETHERLANDS – On 14-17 March 2019, COS Racing team member Chris Murphy competed at the 2019 Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Apeldoorn taking home two bronze medals for Team USA. Chris and his team mates also set a new US national record in the Team Sprint competition. Overall, Team USA took home seven medals.

Competition took place on Apeldoorn’s 250-meter indoor wood track. Chris competed in the 1-kilometer time trial (Bronze), the individual pursuit (9th), the UCI’s new omnium race, and the team sprint competition (Bronze).

Although he took home the bronze medal in the event, Murphy experienced near catastrophe in the 1-kilometer when the start gate did not release him. Chris was able to salvage bronze through a herculean effort but expressed dissatisfaction with the race organizers for not resolving persistent technical issues during the competition.

According to Murphy, his most satisfying event was the team sprint on the last day of the competition in which he and teammates Joe Berenyi and Jason Kimball took bronze. The team also set a new national record in the event. It was also a breakthrough performance for a team sprint trio who has placed just off the podium in 4th place in five of their last six international races.

“…it’s always great to represent team USA and even better to step on the podium with the national team kit on your back.” – Chris Murphy

Chris also participated in the new omnium format which added a flying 200m racing to the already challenging combination of 1K TT, 4K pursuit, and 15k scratch race. This was a fortuitous addition for Chris, who won the 200m by a convincing margin of around half a second. Chris eventually withdrew from the omnium – which was only an exhibition event in this year’s championships – to focus on the team sprint event.

This year’s medals add to Chris’ already impressive tally of two golds and a bronze World Championship medals in the TT (twice gold) and pursuit. Chris also previously competed at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio, taking 4th in the world in the team sprint.

Headline photo credit to @cbgphoto.

Battle for ? in the Mixed Team Sprint

?? vs ?? #Apeldoorn2019 pic.twitter.com/HW8ktY1jUA

— UCI Para-Cycling (@UCI_paracycling) March 17, 2019

Dominant performance by the American ?? who goes on to take the ? #Apeldoorn2019 pic.twitter.com/nVK86SAJ1o

— UCI Para-Cycling (@UCI_paracycling) March 16, 2019

Chris Murphy: Biography

Additional Resources

https://www.facebook.com/UsParalympicsCycling/

Sources:

Team USA. (n.d.). Preview: 2019 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships. Retrieved March 25, 2019, from https://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Features/2019/March/13/Preview-2019-UCI-Para-cycling-Track-World-Championhttps://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Features/2019/March/13/Preview-2019-UCI-Para-cycling-Track-World-Championships

Team USA. (2019, March 14).
Team USA Medal Tracker: UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships. Retrieved March 25, 2019, from https://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Features/2019/March/14/Team-USA-Medal-Tracker-UCI-Para-cycling-Track-World-Championships

Various. (n.d.). U.S. Paralympics Cycling (@usparacycling) • Instagram photos and videos. Retrieved March 25, 2019, from https://www.instagram.com/usparacycling/

Various. (n.d.). U.S. Paralympics Cycling. Retrieved March 25, 2019, from https://www.facebook.com/UsParalympicsCycling/

UCI. (n.d.). Overview. Retrieved March 25, 2019, from https://www.uci.org/para-cycling/overview