Welcome to 2019: Cycling

The world’s best Para cyclists will have the opportunity to test themselves at some major competitions this year with the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games fast approaching.

Apeldoorn, Netherlands, will stage the Track World Championships between 14 and 17 March.

After breaking the world record in the women’s 500m time trial C1 at Rio’s Olympic Velodrome last year, China’s Jieli Li will certainly be a cyclist to look out for.

The same goes for Australian Emily Petricola, who holds the world record time in the women’s 3,000m individual pursuit C4, and Great Britain’s Sophie Thornhill, who broke the women’s 1,000m time trial B world record at last year’s Worlds in Brazil.

The second big competition will be the Road World Championships held in Emmen, Netherlands, from 12-15 September.

Some of the stars set to compete are Great Britain’s most decorated female Paralympian Sarah Storey, Germany’s Summer and Winter Paralympic champion Andrea Eskau and Italian legend Alex Zanardi.

The Road World Cup will also gather some of the world’s best across three stages. Ostend, Belgium, will be the first stop between 3 and 6 May, followed by Emmen, Netherlands, from 6-8 July and Baie-Comeau, Canada, between 15 and 19 August.

Germany seek to end atop the overall standings again through five-time Paralympic champion Michael Teuber, London 2012 bronze medallist Bernd Jeffre and two-time Rio 2016 champion Hans-Peter Durst.

The Parapan American Games will see world and Paralympic champions competing such as Brazil’s Lauro Cesar Chaman, USA’s Shawn Morelli and Jamie Whitmore, and Canada’s Tristen Chernove.

Two other regional competitions taking place in 2019 are the Asian Track and Road Championships in Indonesia and Uzbekistan, respectively.