The Scottish rider was aiming to bounce back after his sixth place in the Time Trial on Thursday, with the 71km event.
Graham was in the first move with Thomas Dartet-Peyreton and Alexndre Leaute of the host nation, while a four-man chase group were close behind.
By the second lap, the Canadian rider Hayward had bridged the gap to create a four-man lead group, with the French working together to put pressure on him and Graham, upping the pace in an attempt to split the group. However, Hayward and Strathpeffer-native were not to be deterred and matched the pace comfortably as the whole group gradually extended their lead on the chase.
Crossing the line into the third lap, van Gass and Watson continued to chase as a pair in an attempt to provide support for their compatriot. With the gap now at 52 seconds, it was looking unlikely they’d pull back the gap and the fight for the podium solidified itself between the front four.
Heading into the final lap, Hayward was clearly struggling to keep the pace, dropping three seconds behind as the French continued to push a ferocious pace to shake off their rivals. Eventually, with less than 20km to go, Hayward was dropped, with Graham left to manage the French tactics alone.
Outmanned but not yet outran, Graham continued to battle for the top step of the podium, fighting off attack after attack from the French with ease.
In the final kilometres of the race, Dartet-Peyreton attacked up the climb in an attempt to lose Graham, but the Scot responded calmly, sticking on his wheel on the ascent. Leaute, however, could not keep the pace and eventually dropped back to eventually take the bronze medal.
With one kilometre to go, it was a fight for gold between Dartet-Peyreton and Graham. Graham launched his sprint with perfect timing and with incredible power, flying across the finish line to take his first Paralympic title.
On the race, Graham said:
“Amazing. I was eyeing up winning a gold. The time-trial didn’t go as planned, I would have liked a bit of a better position than sixth but that’s racing. This race, the French made it hard because it was two against one the whole race.
“It was hard to figure out what their plan was and what their tactic would be, but the boys played it perfectly in the first lap. Matty [Robertson] kept the pace high and then when the gap went, they just shut it down and prevented anyone else from coming over. It panned out perfectly.”
On winning gold: “It is the pinnacle of our sport. I have got world titles, but Paralympic gold, nothing compares to it. That’s what we work towards every four years. To be able to come away with that is amazing.”