Cycling
Cycling premiered at the Paralympic Games New York/Stroke Mandeville 1984. The sport includes two disciplines, road and track (velodrome), and some athletes compete in both. The first year, 20 men and two women from nine countries competed in seven medal events. From those humble beginnings, cycling has become the third-largest Paralympic sport, behind track and field and swimming. At the Paralympic Games London 2012, approximately 450 cyclists competed in cycling events.
The rules of Paralympic cycling are almost identical to those of its Olympic counterpart. However, Paralympic cyclists may compete on one of four different kinds of bike—bicycle, tricycle, handcycle or tandem—depending on their sport class.
TIMELINE
1984
Cycling debuts at the Paralympic Games New York/Stoke Mandeville, with six men’s events and one women’s event
1988
Cycling events for athletes with visual impairments added to the Paralympic program
1994
First Para-cycling World Championships
1996
The number of Paralympic cycling events expands dramatically, to 23, at the Paralympic Games in Atlanta
2004
Handcycling events added to the Paralympic program
2007
Para-cycling governance transferred from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to the Union Cycliste International (UCI)
Individual events in Paralympic cycling include two track events, the individual pursuit and time trial
, and two road events, the road race
and time trial
. Team events are also offered, including a mixed team sprint
(track) and mixed handcycle relay
(road).
Not all bike types compete in all events. Cyclists competing on standard bicycles and tandem bicycles may compete in both road and track events. Athletes competing on handcycles and tricycles may compete in road cycling (but not track) events.
Four types of bike may be used in Paralympic cycling: a bicycle, a tricycle, a handcycle or a tandem bicycle. Each type competes in a separate sport class. In road events, Paralympic cyclists are required to wear helmets of certain colors that indicate the rider’s sport class.
Before competing, cyclists must have their bikes measured by officials to make sure they are within the correct size and weight regulations. This procedure is important because many bikes are custom made for the cyclists.
Bicycles for track cycling have no brakes; instead, athletes push back on the pedals and a single fixed gear slows them down.
Get your vocab on: In cycling, “cadence” refers to how many times a full pedal rotation is completed in one minute.
Sharing the glory: In tandem cycling events for athletes with visual impairments, both the sighted pilots and the stokers with visual impairments are recognized in the results and with medals.
Keep the change: The average racing bicycle, tricycle or handcycle costs $7,500. The average tandem bicycle costs $10,000. Some athletes ride custom bikes that cost upwards of $20,000.
As a triathlete and mountain biker, Jamie Whitmore is the most successful female athlete in the history of XTERRA. Her off-road career claimed 37 championships in a dozen countries around the world, as well as six U.S. titles and, in 2004, a world championship.
In 2008, at the height of her career, Whitmore's doctors informed her that a nagging pain in her leg was caused by a form of cancer called spindle cell carcinoma. She spent the next year in and out of the hospital battling a sarcoma, as doctors removed a muscle from her leg and cleaned out the cancer cells around her sciatic nerve
. Doctors told Whitmore that she'd never run or ride a bike again—but she knew better. After she relearned to walk, she relearned to ride. She raced more XTERRA championships, using forearm crutches to run and a leg brace to ride.
In 2013, Whitmore launched into the world of Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Para-cycling. She's won multiple medals at the World Championships. In 2014, Whitmore earned an ESPY for Best Female Athlete with a Disability.
CLASSIFICATION
Paralympic cycling competition is open to male and female athletes from two impairment groups (physical and visual). Sport classes are based on the type of bicycle used as well as the athlete’s impairment. A system of letters and numbers is used to distinguish the sport classes: “B” is for tandem, “H” is for handcycle, “T” is for tricycle and “C” is for bicycle.
Note: The models presented below are examples. A classification evaluation must be performed to determine an athlete’s sport class(es).
Physical Impairment
Visual Impairment
Intellectual Impairment
Athletes with physical impairments may compete in three different types of cycling event: handcycle, tricycle and bicycle. Within a given sport class category (for example, H1–5), a lower number indicates more severe impairments.
H1–5
H
1
H
2
H
3
H
4
H
5
H1
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalH2
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalH3
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalH4
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalH5
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalT1–2
T
1
T
2
T1
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalT2
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalC1–5
C
1
C
2
C
3
C
4
C
5
C1
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalC2
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalC3
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalC4
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalC5
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalCyclists with visual impairments compete in sport class B using tandem (two-person) bicycles. The bicycle is specifically designed with two seats and two sets of pedals. Only the front cyclist, called the “pilot,” can turn the bike. The cyclist with a visual impairment rides in the back and is called the “stoker.” Cyclists with visual impairments may compete in all road and track cycling events. Read more about athletes with visual impairments in the Paralympic Games.
B
B
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctional