Para cycling has come a long way since its debut at the 1984 Paralympic Games and High Peak athlete Katie Toft knows just how amazing this sport can be.

British champion Dame Sarah Storey has undoubtedly helped to push the sport further, with 14 gold medals making her the most successful female British Paralympian of all time.

The incline of the sport has been incredible for future athletes, giving them the platform and the opportunity to excel.

Derbyshire rider, Katie Toft, has had an extremely successful career to date, competing at both a national and international level in the C1 category of para cycling.

She began racing in 2013 after she began to cycle as part of her physio to strengthen her legs. The five-time world champion has cerebral palsy, so went along to a wheelers group in Stockport to learn the elements of racing.

From there she attended Mossley CRT, who taught her all the tricks of race craft.

Her first race saw her take home a silver medal in the C3 IP however everything changed in 2017 when she began racing in the C1 category in 2017, putting her against people with similar disabilities to her own.

Katie’s success only grew from here, winning five World Championship titles in less than a year during her 2018/19 season.

“In 2018 I also won the World Cup Series overall and in 2016 I became a double National Champion,” Katie says.

Katie is also part of the Storey Racing team. This team was founded in 2017 by Dame Sarah and Barney Storey and works to nurture riders to produces their best performance and progress through the ranks of women’s cycling.

“Storey Racing is amazing. We have youth teams to senior teams including para cyclists and we race across all different disciplines.

“Our team motto is #BestVersionOfYou, so regardless of the result you can only do your best on the day,” she says.

Living with cerebral palsy, Katie believes that the condition is so misunderstood.

“Cerebral Palsy is one of the most common childhood disabilities and yet very few people really understand the effects it has on each individual.

“It is different for everyone even if you have the same diagnosis as someone else it’ll affect both people slightly differently and it is also one of the few neurological conditions which doesn’t have any guidance for supporting adults with the disability,” she explains.

Self-proclaimed foodie Katie is now looking to grow and develop her performance even further, but not without taking the time to taste new foods.

“I love spending time with my family and I’m a bit of a foodie and enjoy trying new foods.

"During lockdown I’ve been growing some vegetables and we’ve had some great homegrown meals,” she says.

Now the High Peak athlete is looking to put Chinley on the map as she dreams of representing Team GB at a major championship.

But for now Katie is happy to see her progression as an athlete, focusing on each session at hand and ensuring that she gives it her all in every race.

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