Para-cycling (or Paracycling) is the sport of

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

adapted for cyclists who have various

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

. It is governed by the

Union Cycliste Internationale The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues racing ...

(UCI). The sport consists of seven different events which include

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

races. The world's elite para-cyclists compete at

Track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

and Road Worlds Championships (since 1994), the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

, the

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

and the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

(since 2010).

History

Para-cycling originated in the 1980s, starting with visually impaired riders who competed on a

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

with a sighted partner. In New York 1984 it entered the Summer Paralympic Games, where it consisted of only road races for riders with cerebral palsy. Over the next four Paraolympic Games further events were added. In Atlanta 1996 track cycling was included as well as a variety of disabilities in various functional categories.

Handcycling A handcycle is a type of human-powered land vehicle powered by the arms rather than the legs, as on a bicycle. Most handcycles are tricycle in form, with two coasting rear wheels and one steerable powered front wheel. Despite usually having th ...

was included in the 2000 Sydney Paralympics as an exhibition event.

Events

Para-cycling events consist of the following three road races and five track events:

Road

* Road race (men and women) * Individual time trial (men and women) * Handcycling team relay (men and women, mixed event)

Track

* Tandem sprint (men and women) * Team sprint (men and women, mixed event) * 500 m time trial (men and women) or kilometre time trial (men and women) * Individual pursuit (men and women) * Scratch race (men and women)

Classification

Classification of riders consists of three broad groups; visual impairment, cerebral palsy and physical impairment. These are subdivided into 14 functional categories for men and women. Riders are placed in the appropriate category according to their functional ability. B: blind (tandem) B1-2 C: cycle C1-5 H: handbike H1-5 T: tricycle T1-2

References

External links

* * Cycle sport Paralympic sports {{cycling-stub