Sarah Storey wins 19th Paralympic gold after thrilling road race finale

Dame Sarah Storey survived an almighty scare in the final kilometres of the women’s C 4-5 road race in Paris but stormed back to take her 19th Paralympic gold and 30th medal overall by the narrowest of margins.

With under 2km to go of the 71km race, France’s Heidi Gaugain attacked on the final climb and initially looked to have created a decisive gap over the 46-year-old British cyclist.

It appeared to be a gold-medal-winning move by the teenager but Storey recovered and was back on the Frenchwoman’s wheel as they approached the final straight, before leading her rival into the last 100 metres.

The sprint went to the line with Storey, already with one gold from these Games in the time trial this week, holding off Gaugain by barely half a wheel to seal a memorable 19th gold and surely one of her hardest-earned.

“I knew Heidi would want to attack and I was happy to take it to the line as the fastest sprinter in the group,” she told Channel 4. “It played out perfectly.”

Of the prospect of aiming for a 20th gold in Los Angeles at the age of 50 in four years time, Storey was keeping her cards close to her chest: “Who knows? I need to enjoy this first.”