HE is already a two-time Paralympic champion and while the Tokyo Games have been postponed until 2021, David Nicholas would still love to make it a golden treble.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Queensland native nicknamed 'diesel Dave' is now based in Bathurst where he and his partner Emilie Miller - also a para-cycling star - are trying to remain positive despite their sport being impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
It was announced on Tuesday that the Tokyo Paralympic Games have been rescheduled to the new dates of August 24 to September 5, 2021.
Australia had not named its para-cycling team for the Games prior to the postponement, but Nicholas had certainly hoped to be part of the contingent.
When making his Paralympic debut in London 2012, Nicholas won gold in the road time trial and bronze in the road race for his classification.
Four years later in Rio, he won gold in the men's C3 individual pursuit.
He is currently the four-time defending world champion in his class in the individual pursuit, making him a strong contender for Paralympic selection.
Miller has also earned multiple rainbow jerseys - hers coming in the road race and time trial.
While her handcycling category will be included at the Games for the first time come Tokyo, she acknowledges it will be much tougher for her to earn a spot in the Australian team.
"I think it's [Tokyo] possibly not on the cards for me with the challenges that come with my class, but it's still a goal for Dave," she said.
"There's a fair bit of negotiation to happen and a bit of unknown for people in terms of qualification now.
"That's not just isolated to cycling, all sports, both able-bodied and para have to make individual decisions about what they are going to do."
One of those decisions for Cycling Australia will certainly be exactly what the make up of their Paralympic Games contingent entails.
Each nation can only take a limited number of riders and that is where the question mark over Miller's selection chances arise.
While she is the undoubted star of her classification, it will likely be combined with other classes at Tokyo.
"Unfortunately the IPC [International Paralympic Committee] are in a position where they can only run x number of events, so the only way they can get every class on the program is to put in a combined event," Miller explained.
"But then some athletes will miss out as it's not worthwhile taking them given their podium potential.
"So it's a numbers problem for my class. Even though they are running the class, the way the factoring system works, it's up to the national bodies to decide if it's viable or worthwhile taking athletes based on what they would anticipate their results to be.
"It's basically we get I think 15 [Paralympic Games cycling spots] across the board for any class ... they just have to look a decide what athletes are most likely to get a medal chance."
We have removed our paywall from our stories about the coronavirus. This is a rapidly changing situation and we want to make sure our readers are as informed as possible. If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe here
