C4 is a

para-cycling classification Para-cycling classification is the process of classifying participants in para-cycling covering four functional disability types. The classification system includes classes for handcycles for people who have lower limb mobility issues. The sport i ...

. It includes people with lower limb impairments or issues with lower limb functionality. Disability groups covered by this classification include people with cerebral palsy, amputations and other lower limb impairments. The responsibility for this classification passed from the IPC to the UCI in September 2006.

Definition

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of ed ...

defined this classification as "Cyclists with upper or lower limb impairments and low-level neurological impairment." ''The Telegraph'' defined this classification in 2011 as "C 1–5: Athletes with cerebral palsy, limb impairments and amputations." The UCI recommends this be coded as MC4 or WC4.

Disability groups

One of the disability groups in this class is people with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be p ...

from the CP7 and CP8 classes. CP7 sportspeople are able to walk, but appear to do so while having a limp as one side of their body is more affected than the other. They may have involuntary muscles spasms on one side of their body. They have fine motor control on their dominant side of the body, which can present as asymmetry when they are in motion. People in this class tend to have energy expenditure similar to people without cerebral palsy. CP8 competitors must have cerebral palsy to such an extent that it impacts their sporting performance against able-bodied competitors to be eligible for this class. This is general manifested as

spasticity Spasticity () is a feature of altered skeletal muscle performance with a combination of paralysis, increased tendon reflex activity, and hypertonia. It is also colloquially referred to as an unusual "tightness", stiffness, or "pull" of muscles ...

in at least one limb. They are able to freely engage in a number of sport related motions including jumping. They also tend to have good balance and have minimal issues with coordination. People in this class tend to have energy expenditure similar to people without cerebral palsy.

Classification history

Cycling first became a Paralympic sport at the

1988 Summer Paralympics The 1988 Summer Paralympics () were the first Paralympics in 24 years to take place in the same city as the 1988 Summer Olympics, Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" was used offic ...

. In September 2006, governance for para-cycling passed from the International Paralympic Committee's International Cycling Committee to UCI at a meeting in Switzerland. When this happened, the responsibility of classifying the sport also changed.

Historical world records

Below are some historical world records for this classification in the 200m men's Indoor track / Flying start.

At the Paralympic Games

For the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fro ...

in Rio, the International Paralympic Committee had a zero classification at the Games policy. This policy was put into place in 2014, with the goal of avoiding last minute changes in classes that would negatively impact athlete training preparations. All competitors needed to be internationally classified with their classification status confirmed prior to the Games, with exceptions to this policy being dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Rankings

This classification has UCI rankings for elite competitors.

Competitors

Competitors in this classification include Australia's

Tyson Lawrence Tyson John Lawrence, OAM (born 9 June 1978) is an Australian Paralympic tandem cycling pilot, who worked with Kieran Modra at the 2008 Beijing Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also kno ...

and Britain's

Jody Cundy Jody Alan Cundy, (born 14 October 1978) is an English cyclist and former swimmer. He has represented Great Britain at seven Summer Paralympics winning eight Gold, one Silver and three Bronze medals across swimming and cycling events. He has a ...

. In 2016,

Bahman Golbarnezhad Bahman Golbarnezhad ( fa, بهمن گلبارنژاد, 12 June 1968 – 17 September 2016) was an Iranian Paralympic racing cyclist competing in C4 classification events and an earlier powerlifter. During his powerlifting career, he won twel ...

died while competing.

Becoming classified

Classification is handled by

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 rac ...

. Classification for the UCI Para-Cycling World Championships is completed by at least two classification panels. Members of the classification panel must not have a relationship with the cyclist and must not be involved in the World Championships in any other role than as classifier. In national competitions, the classification is handled by the national cycling federation. Classification often has three components: physical, technical and observation assessment.

References

{{Cerebral palsy sport classification Para-cycling classification Parasports classifications