JACOB TIPPER Adventures in Rio

Last week, I was at the Para-cycling Track World champs in Rio, working with a stalwart of the para-cycling scene and former minister of sport for Romania, Eduárd Novak. His first cycling Paralympics was Athens.

But he reached out to me for support after a pretty poor World Champs in Glasgow last year, with age finally starting to catch up with him.

Of all the places I’ve been to coach, Rio has certainly been the most colourful. The time difference makes waking up early for once a possibility so I’ve been able to ride and run and see the sights. Day one I saw a swamp puppy (alligator), day two I saw a metre-long lizard while riding the Olympic TT course from 2016.