Para-cyclist Mark Colbourne wins World Cup silver

Colbourne was Britain's leading performer in Canada

GB Para-cycling squad newcomer Mark Colbourne continued his impressive progress with a silver medal in the final round of the World Cup series.

The 42-year-old Welshman, who suffered a spinal injury while para-gliding in February 2009, only linked up with the GB squad last year.

In June he made his World Cup debut in Spain, winning a time trial bronze.

But he improved on that in Canada, finishing second behind Spain's Juan Jose Mendez Fernandez.

Colbourne was part of a three-man team, along with Russ White and Paralympian Rik Waddon, who were aiming to round off the World Cup series with more points to help GB's 2012 Paralympic qualification bid.

He will now be a strong contender for a place in the GB squad for the World Road Championships in Denmark from 8-11 September with the team set to be announced next month.

"Finding Mark was a bit of a revelation," said GB coach Chris Furber. "Until recently we did not have a rider in his C1 category. He's done exceptionally well in the last few months and opened up new medal opportunities for us on the road.

"The team performed well at all three of this year's World Cup events, winning 19 medals and earning us vital qualification points for the London 2012 Paralympic Games."