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Wolfgang Eeibeck, Gold medal winner and World Record holder. [File Photo]

Track cycling legend Wolfgang Eibeck of Austria is back for a third attempt to add to the only Paralympic gold glittering in his overflowing trophy cabinet.

The determined Austrian cycles into history on the opening day of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, when he makes his fourth appearance since bursting onto the world Paralympic Cycling scene with a gold medal at Atlanta in 1996.

Eibeck, who heads the world rankings in his class and struck silver in Athens, leads a six-strong Austrian squad at Beijing's Laoshan Velodrome, where 151 competitors from 31 countries and regions begin their bids for gold over four days of intense competition on Sunday, September 7.

Australia and Spain arrive with the biggest teams, at 16 apiece, but both will be hard-pressed by strong squads from Canada, China, the United States, Germany and Great Britain.

All but a few of the medal winners at Athens 2004 are back again, together with most of the top names from the Paralympic Cycling World Cup held in Manchester (Great Britain) earlier this year.

Star attractions include Britain's Darren Kenny, who scooped up two gold medals at Athens and added two more at the World Cup, along with Athens double gold medalists Laurent Thirionet of France and Kieran Modra of Australia.

Athens single gold medal winners hoping to add to their tally include Spain's Roberto Alcaide, Australians Chris Scott, Greg Ball and Lindy Hou, Germany's Michael Teuber and China's Zhou Jufang, as well as Britain's Aileen McGlynn, with a gold and a silver from Athens and two gold medals from Manchester.

The only Athens men's gold medal winners not here to defend their titles are Australia's Anthony Biddle and Peter Brooks, while the only woman from the top three in all events four years ago missing here is China's An Fengzhen.

All the top names will be casting anxious glances over their shoulders at a number of rising stars on the Paralympic Cycling stage, including Britain's Jody Cundy, who took gold at the World Cup.

Jiri Jezek from the Czech Republic, who scored silver in Athens but went one better in Manchester, and World Cup silver medalists Cesar Neira from Spain, Germany's Wolfgang Sacher and Britain's Rik Waddon will all be looking to make their mark in Beijing.

Sarah Storey from Britain soared to world attention with a first and a third in Manchester, while New Zealand's Jayne Parsons made her presence felt with two silver medals and Allison Jones (United States) came to prominence with a silver. None has any Paralympic Games experience.

Even more keen than Eibeck to add gold to her own collection will be China's Tang Qi. Twice second in Manchester and with an Athens bronze medal, despite setting a games record in the heats, gold is surely just a matter of time.

Paralympic Track Cycling is divided into three main disability groups and several sub-groups. All blind and visually impaired (B&VI) competitors race against one another.

The locomotor disability (LC) group is divided into sub-groups 1 to 4, while two of the four cerebral palsy (CP) sub-groups (3 and 4) will compete in Beijing.

(BOCOG September 7, 2008)