Armless para-cyclist grateful for watch prize at World Championships

Spanish para-cyclist Ricardo Ten has thanked the UCI World Championships’ watch sponsor, Tissot, for the victory gifts they gave him in Glasgow.

The 48-year-old, who had both his forearms amputated as a child, won three new rainbow jerseys at the recent Championships, and in each podium ceremony was presented with a Tissot wristwatch. 

While social media users joked that Ten would have no use for the gifts, the para-cyclist quickly dispelled such claims as nonsense. He posted a video of himself on Twitter wearing a UCI-branded watch around his bicep, and shouting: “It’s world champion’s time!” 

In another tweet, Ten wrote: “Thank you again Tissot for these World Championships and these three watches. Thank you very much for your contribution to these World Championships of inclusion.” 

Last week’s Glasgow Super Worlds marked the first time para and non-para events were fully integrated into the programme. At the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, track session scheduling saw both alternate throughout the week, with all athletes sharing the same crowds. 

Ten, who hails from Valencia, was one of the most successful riders from the Championships, taking home six medals in total, three of which were gold. 

He won his first of the trio in the C1 Scratch race on the track, before going on to clinch the overall C1 Omnium title. He then earned his first road world title in the C1 individual time trial, clocking 25 minutes and 4 seconds on the 17km course, and beating second place by just six seconds. 

When he was eight years old, the Spaniard had an accident in which he touched a high-voltage power line and electrocuted himself, suffering severe third-degree burns. He went on to become a three-time gold medal winning Paralympic swimmer, before turning to the bike in 2016 to “give competitive cycling a go”. 

“I’ve had quite a lot of success,” he told Cycling Weekly in Glasgow. “I’ve always been really competitive in every sport I’ve done. I knew that, by training and dedicating loads of hours to cycling, I could do well in it. But I never thought the results I’ve had would come so soon.”