Chris' Profile

With a number of years’ experience riding on the road and on the velodrome, tandem pilot Chris Latham was paired with visually impaired para-cyclist Steve Bate in 2022, and the pair have since achieved excellent results as a duo. This summer, they head to their first Paralympic Games as a pair, aiming for success on the track and road.

The Bolton-born rider made waves as a junior, claiming titles on the track at national level, and continuing that progress over the following years. Latham rode for a series of UK continental teams on the road, racking up a series of consistent results on the domestic scene as well as in Europe and achieving a stage win at the Abu Dhabi Tour in 2015. He brought his road career to an end in 2021, and in 2022, he joined the Great Britain Para-cycling programme, and was paired with Steve Bate.

The pair made their debut on the tandem bike at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, immediately making an impact, as they rode to a bronze medal for team England in the 1km time-trial event on the track

The duo continued to develop their partnership in 2023, heading out onto the road and winning medals at two rounds of the para-road world cup, including two silvers in Alabama, USA, in both the time-trial and the road race. They headed to the home world championships in Glasgow in good form, and though they missed out on a place in the final in the pursuit event at the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome, they were able to win their bronze medal race

So far in 2024, Bate and Latham have improved upon the bronze they won in Glasgow at the UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Rio, where they won silver in the pursuit behind the Dutch specialist Tristan Bangma, who set a new world record time in the process of retaining his world title. At the Paralympic Games this summer in Paris, Latham will make his Paralympic debut, piloting Bate on both the track and the road as the pair go for the first Paralympic medals of their partnership.

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