An engineer from the AMRC is playing a key role in the race for Paralympic gold.

Mike Booker and Dan Bigham, both motorsport engineering graduates, have been involved in high-performance cycling for years.

Their paths first crossed in 2013 when both were injured and found themselves at the Oxford Brookes University Cycling Club, with Mr Booker leaving the rowing club and Mr Bigham leaving the triathlon team.

Fast forward to today, and both are at the forefront of cycling innovation.

Mr Bigham is the founder of WattShop, a high-performance cycling equipment company which was created in 2016.

Mr Booker, now head of innovation at the University of Sheffield AMRC Cymru, based in Broughton, had been working at a product design consultancy firm in North Wales, while also making his own products in his spare time after spotting a gap in the market.

After witnessing his capability in both product development and bringing products to market, Mr Bigham brought him on board as a product designer at WattShop.

As the head of innovation at AMRC Cymru, Mr Booker continues to contribute to cycling design while managing his day job.

Mr Booker and WattShop have previously undertaken adaptive work with the Team GB Paralympics team to create bespoke components for individual athletes, and WattShop's products have been used by numerous national teams.

In this year's Paris games, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Great Britain and the USA cycling teams, across Track and Time Trial, all used WattShop parts.

Mr Bigham said: "For WattShop components to pick up multiple Olympic medals and records across different nations is a dream for the WattShop team.

"Although for me it was a nightmare racing against my own equipment, knowing how fast it is!"

After Australia grabbed Gold in the Men’s Team Pursuit using the company's Cratus Crank, and Great Britain won silver using the Anemoi Delta extensions, this put WattShop on two of the three podium slots.

It also put them on the bikes behind UK records, world records, and Olympic Gold.

Mr Booker said: "There’s not much higher we can get than that"

There is still time to reach the podium once more, with WattShop parts being used by the Chinese, French, and British teams in the upcoming Paralympic events.

Mr Booker said: "The goal is to advance cycling as a sport.

"I want to see cyclists increase their performance, no matter who they are."