I crossed the line in 4:55.958, some 11 seconds off my best, although in the tough conditions it was good enough to top the leader board. The world champ and bronze medalist from the previous worlds gunned for my time in the final heat to knock me down to 3rd. In the final I would now be riding for Bronze against Roberto Alcaide from Spain.

For the final I dropped my gear again, to hopefully suit the track and conditions, and immediately out of the gate I felt more controlled than in the morning qualifying , and I was on schedule, after 2laps I caught a glimpse of my opponent, and at that point I made the conscious decision to go for the catch. I injected some pace and within 5laps I had overcome my opponent to win the bronze. It was quite satisfying catching Roberto as he had caught me for 2 minutes during the time trial at the world road championships last September!

The final was an cracking pursuit contest, with Carol Eduard Novak taking the title ahead of previous world champions and WR holder Jiri Jezek.

C4 4km Pursuit

1. Carol-Eduard Novak  ROU 4:47.927

2. Jiri Jezek  CZE 4:50.852

3. Jody Cundy GBR Overlap

4. Roberto Alcaide ESP

2011 started with a training camp in Majorca, this was part of my preparations for the World Track Championships, and we were treated to some great weather which was especially welcome as the day we left the UK it was snowing. I managed to get some quality miles in during the camp, these miles would prove to be valuable to the rest of the season, especially as I’d added the 4km Pursuit to my racing program.

With 2 training camps back to back in Newport on my return to the UK, preparations for the world champs were almost complete. So it was off to Italy, and a chance to race again on the world scene. First up was the 4km Pursuit, an event I’d only ever ridden 2 or 3 times before, and never really mastered. However with all the extra endurance work of the previous year, I pulled out a massive 20second PB in qualifying to make it to the gold medal ride off against Jiri Jezek. I got a little too excited in the final starting off way too quick, and soon paid for my fast start, but a silver medal at the world championships in a new event put a smile on my face. The following 2 days of racing were business as usual as I returned to the events I know and love, the kilo and team sprint. I surprised myself in the kilo, breaking my WR by 3 tenths of a second, which considering a lot of my focus had been on pursuit in the run up to the competition, it was a welcome surprise.

The final day of competition was the team sprint, and with the rules changing regarding composition of the team almost at every event I was part of a new line up. This time, myself, Darren Kenny and Terry Byrne lined up against the Chinese team in the final. With both teams breaking the WR in qualifying it was always going to be a good race, and sure enough the level of competition pushed us to another world record. Although this only stood for about 2 weeks before the rules were changed once again by the UCI.

So track worlds were a success, I came away with 2 WR’s 2 gold medals and a surprise silver, it was a great way to start the year especially with the London Paralympics just over a year away.

Upon returning home from the World Championships I had my first race in the colours of Para-T, the team I’d set up with my girlfriend. It was a great debut for the team, and really helped raise awareness to the standard of Para-Cycling.

With no break in training my focus switched to competing on the road, as I travelled to Sydney Australia for the first round of the UCI Para-Cycling World Cup. I was there to score qualification points for GB, these points are essential as without them the team may have to make tough decisions on who they take to the Paralympics next year. The racing in Sydney was a shock to the system but an 8^th in the road race and a 6^th in the time trial were all valuable points.

On my return from Australia the road miles started to build up, as did the competitions. Next up was a block of racing in multiple countries as I continued my qualification points quest, first up was Piacenza in Italy, with a 5^th place overall and one of my favourite races of the whole year, then it was a quick drive to Switzerland for another 2day race in Gippingen. Before then joining up with the GB squad and heading out to Segovia in Spain for the 2^nd round of the UCI world cup, although I struggled in the road race I scored more important points in the time trial. With my little road trip almost to an end it was a quick flight over to Glasgow, where I joined a few other members of the GB squad to take part in the middle 4 days of the Deloitte Ride Across Britain.

With all the travelling and racing, my body was getting pretty tired, but it was all important miles in my legs, and I hoped that these would prove valuable for 2012.

With a quiet period without any races for a few weeks I could get on with a few other things that had come my way, first up was a photo shoot for Sky, as I’d just been signed up to their Sky Sports Scholarships program, they were going to offer financial and media support in the run up to 2012.

In the same week as the Sky photo shoot I made my way down to London, where I was meeting with Fiona Banner, a Turner Prize winning artist. She had been commissioned to produce 1 of 12 posters for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and I was to be the subject of her poster. It was quite a daunting process as Fiona has a technique were she paints with words, and I was to model nude (only slightly scary!). But I thought about the posters that you still see from Olympics past, and thought it was definitely worth being part of history, so that was it, there I was stood naked in Fiona’s studio! To be honest after the initial shock it wasn’t so bad, and by the end I was pretty comfortable, however I don’t think I’ll be turning to life modelling anytime soon, although at least I know what’s involved now!

The next challenge for me was the National TT Championships, and although the event was undersubscribed it still proved a tough test as it took in a few climbs which were 14-16% in gradient, not exactly what you want in the middle of a time trial, and definitely not suited to me, but I came out with a 4^th place, which although isn’t great, I couldn’t give anymore.

With only a few weeks to help fine tune my preparations I was on the way to Roskilde Denmark for the World Road Championships, in the pursuit for more qualification points. First up was the time trial, and 2 laps of the 15.2km course. I tried to measure my effort over the course so I would have enough left in the 2^nd lap, but as I crossed the finish line on the 1^st lap I was overtaken by my minute man and was starting to struggle and lost my rhythm. By the time I managed to find it again, I was well on the way to finishing the course! 12^th place in the end, not too disappointed, but would have been nice to make it to the top 10 and score a few points. After a day of rest and recovery it was an early start for the road race. 5 laps of the TT course, as the course was relatively flat it was difficult to make the break and get away. However a small group of C5 athletes did just that along with one C4. The race came down to a bunch sprint for 2^nd place, and although with my speed I was in a good place to get a result, with less than 1km to go I struggled in the bunch for position. I really didn’t want to risk crashing and ruining my 2012 preparations, so I pulled out of the bunch and let them go. I think if I was an out and out road racer it would have been a no brainer and I would have been in that sprint for the finish, however I’m not at the moment, but who knows in years to come.

Off the bike I was busy again, doing some filming and photo’s for Alexander Mann Solutions who have agreed to support and sponsor me in the run up to the Paralympics, and beyond. Another project I’ve been involved in is with Sainsburys & Channel 4. I was one of 10 athletes they decided to profile in the run up to the games over 3 short films. The first went out in the summer and the remainders go out in 2012. They were good fun filming, and I can’t wait to see the outcome as the first film looked great.

With the Worlds over it was time to get back to the velodrome, and a few weeks of preparation before the National Track Championships. The first part of the preparation was a 3day block of training on the Olympic Velodrome in London, it was a valuable experience and I now know what to expect come the Paralympics.

The Nationals were a great start to the track season, I placed 5^th in the open kilo in the fastest time I’ve posted at a season start. I also had a great ride with Jon-Allan Butterworth and Terry Byrne in the Open Team Sprint coming in 5^th place also. However the highlight of Nationals was my flying 200m WR in the Open Sprint Qualification, a time of 10.805 and good enough to place me 11^th overall.

I finished my year the way I started it, on a training camp in Majorca. I made the best of the good weather and got all my endurance base miles in prior to the World Championships which are early in 2012, everything went well apart from the flight home, which got cancelled, but made it back the following day with a little help from my brother and dad!

The finale to 2011 ended with me being named the BBC East 2011 Disability sports personality of the year, something I’m very proud of.

2011 has been a busy year filled with a lot racing, travelling and promotion, and 2012 promises more of the same, plus the added bonus of a home Paralympic Games, something to get really excited by!

Thanks to my sponsors, friends, family and especially my girlfriend Christina, who have helped make it happen. Here’s to 2012!

Unfortunately Jody could not receive the award for Disability Sports Personality of the Year in person as he is currently on a training camp in Majorca, but he joined the award ceremony in Bedford via a live video uplink.

It is the second time that Jody has won this award, having previously won it in 2008 for his success at the Beijing Paralympics. Jody said “I feel honoured to receive this award and being names BBC East’s Disability Sports Personality of the Year. It’s always nice to be nominated let alone win, and having the recognition from a whole region for my sporting success is always a good feeling.”

Jody will return to Manchester before Christmas to spend the festive season with his family and friends before continuing work on the track in the build up to the Track World Championships in Los Angeles in February.

BBC East SPOTY Winners:

Outstanding Achievement: Chrissie Wellington, triathlon (Norfolk)
Sports Personality of the Year: Alastair Cook, cricket (Essex & Beds)
Sporting Legend: Tim Foster, rowing (Beds)
Unsung Hero: Dawn Barnard (Essex)
Disabled SPOTY: Jody Cundy, Paralympic Cycling (Cambs)
Team of the Year: Red Bull F1 (Bucks)
Coach of the Year: Graham Westley (pictured), Stevenage FC manager
Volunteer: Sam Robinson (Cambs)
Club of the Year: Norwich Canoe Club
Young SPOTY: Charley Hull, golfer (Northants)
School of the Year: County Upper School, Bury St Edmunds (Suffolk)

Earlier this year Jody stood model for Fiona Banner in order to create one of the Paralympic posters – “Superhuman Nude” and he feels very honoured to be part of the campaign. Jody said: ” I was over the moon when I was told that Fiona wanted to work with me for one of the London 2012 posters and I am absolutely delighted with the final product. The feedback has been fantastic so far and I can’t wait to have it hanging in my house now!”

A set of the images has been given to the Queen for the Royal Collection and to other important British art collections, including the Government Art Collection (which will be displaying the images in 10 Downing St in 2012) and the British Council (which is planning on exhibiting the images across China in 2012 as part of ‘UK Now’, the largest festival of British arts ever to be shown in China, as well as displaying the posters in British Council’s across the world).

The images will also be available to buy as both posters and limited edition prints.  The posters (at a cost of £7) and a small number of limited edition prints will be available to order on the London 2012 online shop. The limited edition prints will also be for sale individually and as a special boxed set from Counter Editions, the publisher of the prints, who can be contacted on london2012@countereditions.com and on 0207 684 8888.

Fiona Banner – Superhuman Nude
Fiona Banner creates nude studies from life, transcribing physical scenarios into verbal descriptions.  These ‘wordscapes’ define the shapes and forms of the body as well as fleeting moments such as the tension in a second of shared eye contact, or a nervous finger tapping. Banner’s print is described as a nude study of a Paralympic Athlete. The title alludes to the extraordinary physicality of his body. She focuses on strength and physicality but also on the fragility of a human  awaiting competition.  Banner says ‘I liked the idea of comparing the athlete to a superhero, with some extraordinary prosthetic gift. Looking at an athlete naked made them powerful and vulnerable at once.’

See all the Olympic and Paralympic posters

Jody has been named as one of 11 athletes on the revolutionary Sky Sports Scholarship Scheme, designed to help Britain’s and Ireland’s most exciting prospects fulfil their potential on the international stage. Sky Sports Scholarships extends Sky’s long term support of sport through programmes such as British Cycling, Sky Sports Living for Sport and the ECB Coach Education Programme. Sky Sports is preparing the athletes with funding for coaching, training and competition and with mentoring support from Sky Sports News presenters who will partner with them to follow their stories and share their experience of being in the public spot light.

Cycling is a financially demanding sport due to the state-of-the-art equipment that is required in order to compete at the highest level. Sky Sports’ support of Jody has enabled him to have access to this essential equipment. It has also enhanced his training schedule by allowing Jody to attend high-performance training camps, based outside of the UK, that offer better training conditions. The funding is giving Jody access to the best possible preparations ahead of competitions. Jody has been teamed up with Sky Sports News HD presenter John Paul Davis and you can follow his progress on Sky Sports News and skysports.com in the coming months here.

Find out more about the Sky Sports Scholarship Scheme and why it has Jody dreaming of greater cycling glory!

The next update will definitely be along sooner than the last!

Click on the newsletter to download.

Catch you all soon.

Jody

Over the next year, Alexander Mann Solutions will be harnessing ‘Spirit in Motion’ by sponsoring a global team of exceptional sportspeople representing a selection of key sports. They will be supporting the athletes with a combination of funding, professional training and knowledge sharing. All of this will help them to reach their full potential in what promises to be one of the most important periods of their sporting lives. It’s also an important part of the project that Alexander Mann Solutions will be extending their support past September 2012, to ensure a lasting legacy with each of the athletes on Team AMS.

Jody said “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Alexander Mann Solutions for inviting me to become a mentor and ambassador for Team AMS. It’s a great honour and a privilege to have been asked and to be involved in this programme. I’m looking forward to welcoming on board the other team members comprising of numerous aspiring disability athletes.”

To find out more about Team AMS and Jody’s involvement visit Team AMS !

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Click newsletter to download

After a successful Track World Championship Silver medal in the pursuit, Jody continued his endurance transition and made his debut on the road at the UCI Para-Cycling Road World Cup in Sydney. In only his 2nd road race he finished with a solid 8th place in the unfamiliar surroundings of road racing. The C4/C5 groups were combined on the road and Jody got stuck into the action right from the start finishing inside the top 10 to gain valuable qualification points for London.

Results 78.3km C4 road race.
1.M. Pittacolo ITA
2. Jiri Bouska CZE
3. R. Hughes AUS
9. J. Cundy GBR

Men’s C4 Time Trial

Next up was the timetrial, 4 laps of a techincal 5.5km course around the Sydney Olympic park, a venue very close to Jody as 11 years previous he won 2 golds and a bronze in the Aquatics centre at the 2000 Paralympic games.

Scoring points was the main goal for Jody and moving up the order compared to the road race would be critical to this. With a time of 31.49 he did just that finishing 6th 1min 28seconds down on the overall winner Jiri Bouska.

With 22 qualification points in the bag, and 10 medals won by the GB paracycling team, Sydney was a good start to the World Cup series. Jody will continue his road racing season, and hunt for 2012 qualification points at the P1 events in Piacenza and Gippingen, before taking on the 2nd round of the world cup in Sergovia Spain.

Results C4 22km TT
1. Jiri Bouska CZE – 30:21
2. Manfred Gattringer AUT – 30:37
3. Michele Pittacolo ITA – 31:08
6. J. Cundy GBR – 31:49