The Special Olympics Gibraltar (SOG) cycling team returned home on Tuesday from the 2024 UEC Road European Championships in Limburg, Flanders where, for the first time ever, Special Olympics had their own race in the European Championships programme. 

A statement from Special Olympics Gibraltar follows below:

In two very hard-fought races on Sunday Gianni Ochello came in third in the 5k Road Race final to claim bronze medal with a time of 10min 26sec. There were only 11 seconds between second and fourth place with Gianni beating his Belgian opponent by just 4 seconds. Francis Mauro Jnr came in sixth in his 15k Road race final with a time of 28min 25sec. Both athletes were pleased with their performances and for Gianni this was his first competitive race in a sport he has only recently taken up, which bodes well for the future.

It was a busy weekend with the divisioning on Saturday following a 3.30 am start for the team to get their flight to Brussels. This was a major championship, organised on behalf of and together with the Union Europeene de Cyclisme, and included a visit to the Heusden-Zolder velodrome on Saturday which also took in a cycling clinic. 

There were a lot of spectators for the races and a great atmosphere with 50 Special Olympics athletes from across Europe taking part. SOG have expanded their cycling program in the last 12 months, taking on several new cyclists who participate in regular cycling training sessions. National Director Annie Risso said “the great success of our athletes in Belgium proves that our new cycling training programme is working well and adds yet another sport to the range which SOG can offer to individuals with intellectual disabilities in Gibraltar.”