Para Fuels Biking Passion for World Championships Medalist Bryan Larsen

Bryan Larsen’s passion for biking goes back 30 years.

“When I was a kid,” Larsen says, “one of my primary objectives in the sport was to put a Team USA jersey on and race in an international race, whether it be a world championships or something like that.”

Two years ago, that wish came true when he competed at the Para track world championships in Paris. This year he took things one step further when he won three medals and proved to be the most successful American rider at the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Rio de Janeiro.

“It was a very good week. A little bit of relief, that’s for sure,” said Larsen, a 34-year-old biomedical service marketing specialist from Windsor, California.

Larsen’s run of three world championships appearances in less than two years, and a reclassification from MC5 to MC4, now has him primed to take another big step in his career: qualifying for the Paralympic Games Paris 2024.

“In a year and a half, I’ve done three years’ worth of world championships,” he said. “It’s super condensed, which just means my learning curve is super-fast, also. Learning the experience, learning my competition.”

All that learning hit an intense level in Rio. He had a career-best fourth-place finish in the individual pursuit on the second day of the world championships, finishing less than a second out of a podium finish. It fueled Larsen’s passion even more.

“I was pretty defeated after that pursuit ride,” Larsen said. “Kind of kicking myself a little bit and, of course, wondering if that was it. That was my shot and I missed it.”

Actually, that wasn’t it.

“I came back the next day in the scratch race,” he said. “Before the race even started, I told myself I was going to attack with two laps to go regardless of the situation. I tried to remove emotion from that decision, just make it as subjective as possible, as black and white as possible. I went for it. When one rider came around me in the last corner, I thought, ‘Oh, that’s it, everyone else is going to come around me.’ When I looked over my shoulder and I didn’t see anyone else, I knew I’d gotten a medal.”

Larsen won a bronze medal in that race with a sense of, “Ah, I did it.”

But there was more to come. He captured another bronze medal in the omnium one day later and then won a silver medal in the dramatic eliminator race, which was run as a test event for the first time at a world championships.

“I’d love to see even more Para events like this added to future world championships,” Larsen said. “For example, I’d love to see something like a points race or a team pursuit with multiple categories being required to compete. So this was a step in the right direction, and I had a great time.”

The eliminator race eliminated the slowest cyclist every other lap until two riders were left: Larsen and winner Archie Atkinson of Great Britain.

“I definitely have regrets in the final laps there that I believe could have changed some of the podium standings,” Larsen said, “but I’m super honored to stand on the podium the first time this was hosted at a world championships.”

Larsen’s third-place finish in the omnium came after a combination of finishes in the scratch race, individual pursuit, 200-meter flying start and 1-kilometer time trial.

“I feel like an omnium podium is really special because it’s not just the specialists, it’s somebody who thinks about everything,” Larsen said.

His medal haul in Rio followed a journey that really began in 2019 during a crash in a bike race that slammed him to the ground, face first, at 40 miles an hour. He was diagnosed with a nerve injury to his C5 and C6 vertebrae, leaving him with an upper extremity impairment.

He turned to Para-cycling and competed for the first time in 2022, although he could have competed in Para long before that because he was born with a club foot.

“I was actually Para my whole life, but I didn’t know it,” Larsen said.

“I grew up taping my ankle and wearing ankle braces when I’m a kid,” he said. “I thought that was just normal. If I didn’t do that, I’d end up with ankle sprains and not be able to walk.”

Biking began during his childhood years in California and eventually led to the Netherlands to race with a Dutch team. A 2012 biomedical engineering graduate at the University of California, Irvine, he helped run a college bike club while he was in school. The bad crash in 2019 happened during a local pro race in California. Three years later, following rehabilitation and the pandemic, Larsen attended his first national camp and soon was racing on the U.S. team.

“Para did a lot for me,” Larsen said. “It kept me motivated when I was trying to figure out if I would ever move my arm again. It gave me a goal. It helped fulfill a childhood dream. And all the while, it just opened my eyes to how impressive all athletes can be regardless of their experiences, impairment, background or other. Everyone that’s on the team is unique, special and inspiring in their own way. I’m really thankful that I get to be next to these people.”

Now, after being reclassified to MC4, Larsen may be headed for the Paralympic Games in Paris.

“I’m riding faster than I ever have before,” he said. “I believe that medals are possible. There’s no shortcut. I’m going to put in as much insanely hard work as I can between now and then to make sure I have the best shot.”

Paul D. Bowker has been writing about Olympic and Paralympic sports since 1996, when he was an assistant bureau chief in Atlanta. He is a freelance contributor to USParaCycling.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.