Along with three bikes and a box full of wheels, Tauranga cyclist Fraser Sharp flies out tonight for his debut at the Rio Paralympics.

His flight comes only days after hearing he had made the team, in a late selection made by Paralympics NZ on Sunday, August 28.

Fraser Sharp racing at the Australian Road Nationals last year. Photo: Katrina Robinson Photography.

It was a pleasing feeling for him after narrowly missing the initial selection for Rio Paralympics back in May, says Fraser.

'I got the phone call no athlete wants: that I'd been denied selection,” says Fraser.

Trying to deal with the bad news over the last four months was the biggest challenge for the cyclist, who had put everything on the line for the Paralympics.

'I haven't been working, I've been dedicating my whole life to Rio,” says Fraser.

His dedication paid off on Sunday afternoon when receiving the call from PNZ CEO Fiona Allan that he'd made the team.

'It was a great relief to know for my family, who have been so supportive,” says Fraser.

The journey to Rio has been a long one for the 40-year old cyclist, who was almost killed when he was 16 when a car crashed into him during a training ride in 1993.

In hospital he had to relearn how to walk and talk again while living with a painful head injury.

'The doctors said I'd never ride again in '93,” says Fraser.

'But anything's possible – that's my motto which I push myself with.”

He has high hopes for his performance in Rio.

'If you're not determined, you're going nowhere,” says Fraser.

'I want to represent my country the best I can, in the hope of reaching the podium.”

Fraser flies out tonight for a week's training in Montreal Canada with Auckland coach Rick Reid, before leaving for Rio on September 11.

The Rio Paralympics will run from September 7-18, with Fraser competing in an individual Time Trial on September 14 and in a Road Race on September 16.