Kane Perris and Luke Zaccaria channelling ‘old couple’ in Glasgow Commonwealth Games medal tilt

In sport, trust between teammates is imperative, but it’s hard to imagine a scenario where it’s more important than the world of paracycling.

Born with albinism and affected by vision loss associated with the condition, legally blind cyclist Kane Perris rides in tandem with his pilot, Luke Zaccaria.

Now the pair is among the favourites in the men’s “tandem b”, for vision-impaired cyclists, at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The trust between them took some time to develop.

“Giving up my control and going against what human nature and the brain says to do, which is … you’re riding a bike that I don’t have control over steering … on a bunch of wooden planks that are at 44 degrees,” Perris said.

“To me, it did take a long time to build that trust in the sport and build that trust in Luke.”

The right stuff

Zaccaria discovered Perris on a talent search day, and was immediately struck by his mental strength.

“There were definitely some qualities that really stuck out to me,” Zaccaria said.

“We ran the testing, Kane walked in and [impressed with] his attitude and his mindset, which for me is a big thing, it kind of sets people apart.

Now they describe their relationship as similar to an old married couple.

“We’re constantly bickering in the training environment but Luke and I have, like, forged our strength through trust in the relationship we’ve built over the last six years in riding together,” Perris said.

“We have this clear expectation that we’re both doing the work.

“Ultimately, it’s that trust that makes us go fast.”

Speed bumps

Perris is not exaggerating: on a good day, the duo can hit 75 kilometres per hour.

But sometimes the consequences can be disastrous.

The pair crashed out on the opening day of the paracycling world championships in 2024, and Kane was left with a fractured shoulder, three broken ribs and a punctured lung.

But they licked their wounds and finished fourth in the 1 kilometre time trial at the Paris Paralympics later that year.

Kane says he was at a low ebb mentally when he came to cycling in 2020, in need of a new challenge.

“I really needed something in life that could be the vessel for growth and I never knew that it would be riding bikes in circles at 75km/h but this guy came along and the opportunity came up and I’ve never looked back.

Six years after their fateful meeting, Perris and Zaccaria head to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow to compete in the 1km time trial and sprints, with gold firmly on their mind.

Young star rising

Liliya Tatarinoff has just turned 20, but is already attracting attention for her performances on the track.

She only relocated to Perth a year ago from the New South Wales Central Coast, leaving her family behind to pursue her sporting dreams by training at the WA Institute of Sport under cycling guru Shane Perkins.

“It’s been a tough transition, but definitely a worthwhile one,” she said.

“I’ve had a huge improvement since moving here.”

Tatarinoff is a reserve in the team sprint in Glasgow, and will compete in the sprints, keirin and 1 kilometre time trial.

Tatarinoff competed in the world championships last year, her first elite international competition, and said the Commonwealth Games was the “next step”.

“Being selected for the Comm Games is just a huge achievement for me, it’s always been a dream of mine ever since I was a little girl,” she said.