This feature originally appeared in Cycling Weekly magazine on 5 September. Subscribe now and never miss an issue.
“You could put the best two cyclists in the world on a tandem and they’re probably not going to go that quick,” says Neil Fachie. It’s a curious hypothesis, but if anyone knows what it takes to ride fast, Fachie does. He’s a 20-time tandem world champion and double Paralympic gold medallist, lauded as one of the best stokers – the person on the back of the bike – in the sport. As he stands in front of Cycling Weekly’s dictaphone, moments after becoming the kilometre time trial national champion, the 40-year-old has the Paralympics on his mind. This year’s Games in Paris are his fourth as a tandem cyclist, and last weekend saw Fachie earn his third silver medal in the kilo alongside his pilot, Matt Rotherham.
