Newcastle's Lauren Parker wins her first world…

Newcastle's Lauren Parker wins her first world para-cycling title

Australian para-cyclist Lauren Parker has become world champion in a second sport, striking hand-cycling gold at the world championships after shining in the para-triathlon over recent years.

The 34-year-old continued the para-cycling team's success story on the roads of Dumfries and Galloway on Wednesday after their squad had won four golds and 13 medals on the track at the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome in Glasgow.

But the Aussies' cycling track team finished their eight-day program without a victory after Matt Richardson's silver in the keirin in the penultimate event seemed to sum up their campaign of near-misses.

Newcastle's Lauren Parker. Picture Getty Images

Newcastle's Parker was left exultant at striking gold in the H3 individual time trial, winning by over a minute from her rivals in the race against the clock in just her second major para-cycling event.

"It's pretty special to now be a world champion in two sports - para-triathlon and para-cycling," said Parker, who's lifted the global title in the three-event discipline on three occasions.

"I was nervous because my first major para-cycling event was one in Belgium a few months ago, so I didn't really know where I was at against the other girls because I've only raced them once.

"I had a little bit of nerves there but I believed in myself.

"I was just waiting for the other girls to cross the line afterwards to see what times they were doing - and when I found out that I'd finally done it, I was quite emotional."

For Parker, who was the only athlete to cover the 17km course in under half-an-hour (29:59.44) and won by almost 1:12 from German silver medallist Annika Zeyen, it was more proof of her remarkable athletic talent and resilience that's surfaced since a freak cycling accident left her paraplegic in 2017.

After both tyres on her time trial bike exploded and she crashed at 45kph, she suffered a broken shoulder, four broken ribs, a punctured lung, broken pelvis, broken back and suffered spinal cord damage which left her instantly paralysed from the waist down.

Now Parker, who won triathlon silver in the 2021 Paralympics, will be targeting gold in two different sports at next year's Games in Paris.

The road-cycling team also enjoyed a big afternoon with 18-year-old Tasmanian prospect Hamish McKenzie earning bronze in the men's under-23 time trial.

But it was the same old story at the Glasgow track as Richardson won the team's sixth silver of the eight-day program - and his second after the team sprint - but was outpaced by surprise Colombian victor Kevin Quintero, who flew while the Aussie and world sprint champion, fourth-placed Harrie Lavreysen, man-marked each other.

With six silver and one bronze, Australia's team were, to much disappointment a year before the Olympics, unable to take a gold, while 10 other nations did.

The British hosts saved one of their best for last as 20-year-old Emma Finucane became their first rider to win the women's world sprint gold for 10 years as she beat Germany's Lea Friedrich in the final after knocking out two-time world champion Emma Hinze in the semi.

That fifth triumph and ninth medal in all put GB on top of the track table in terms of both total medals and golds won.