Stephen Bate
Stephen Stanley Bate is a New Zealand–British para-cyclist who competes in tandem races as an athlete with a visual impairment. Since 2014, Bate has been piloted by Adam Duggleby. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, the pair won gold in the Cycling at the [2016 Summer Paralympics – Men's individual pursuit B|men's individual pursuit B] and Cycling at the 2016 Summer Paralympics – Men's road [time trial B|men's road time trial B], and bronze in the men's road race B.
In 2018 Bate and Duggleby won the UCI World Para-cycling Tandem B Individual Pursuit and the UCI World Para-cycling Tandem B Individual Time Trial to become double World Champions.
The pair are current World Tandem B Time Trial champions, after winning the title in 2021 at the UCI Paracycling World Championships in Cascais, Portugal.
Cycling career
Bate was introduced to the ideas of para-cycling by friend and Great Britain team member Karen Darke; both of whom have conquered El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Bate has climbed the rock face 3 times including a solo ascent of Zodiac, becoming the first visually impaired person to achieve this. In 2013 he was accepted onto British Cycling’s Paralympic Development Programme and, was teamed up with sight piloted Adam Duggleby. In December 2014, after became the British road and time trial national champion, Bate was advanced from the development programme to the Paralympic Podium Programme, for athletes who British Cycling believe have medal potential at Paralympic level. The next year he made his World Championship debut, competing at the 2015 Championships in Apeldoorn.In 2015 Bate and Duggleby won their first World Cup medals together. At Maniago in Italy they took silver in the road race and a bronze in the time trial; and followed this with a gold medal in the time trial at the Pietermaritzburg World Cup in South Africa. In July 2016, Bate was named in the Great Britain team to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio.
Bate was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to cycling.
At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Duggleby and Bate won silver in the Cycling at the [2020 Summer Paralympics – Men's individual pursuit B|men's individual pursuit B].
At the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, France, Bate competed with sighted pilot Christopher Latham in the Cycling at the [2024 Summer Paralympics – Men's pursuit B|men's pursuit B]. The pair set a new world record in qualifying to reach the gold medal final. However, previous world record holders Tristan Bangma and Patrick Bos of the Netherlands retook the world record in their qualifying run and went on to beat Bate and Latham in the final, meaning the British pair won a silver medal.
In October 2025, Bate and his pilot Chris Latham won the gold medal in the men's tandem individual pursuit at the 2025 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships, marking the final world title of Bate's career.
Following the event, he announced his retirement from elite competition, concluding a 12-year tenure on the Great Britain Cycling Team's Para-cycling performance programme.