PARALYMPIAN bronze medallist James Brown has won gold at the Wales National Velodrome.

James, 49, a tandem cyclist who lives in Stonehouse, represented Ireland in the London Paralympics last year and won silver in the pursuit at the World Track Championships in February 2012.

Over the weekend James and his new tandem pilot Bryan McCrystal, took gold in the men's four km tandem pursuit at the Paracycling International Cup in Newport.

“It was close at the end but our consistency and stamina meant we were able to power away in the closing kilometre and win the race,” said James, whose Paralympic career stretches right back to 1984 where he won double gold on the running track in the 1500m and 800m events.

“Bryan is brand new to track cycling so to win at this level already is extremely promising for the future as we beat very experienced crews including the overall event winners from Holland and the Spanish crew who beat me at the London Paralympics.

“The only absentees were the world record holders, Australia and we are dying to see how we stack up against them soon.

Despite his age, James plans to compete in his seventh Paralympic Games in Rio 2016. Since his career started he has competed in cross-country skiing, swimming, the triathlon and now cycling

“Bryan and I believe we can take on the very best pairs and beat them so we are confident of more medals in the future,” he said.