Road

The 50 medal events that make up the Paralympic Cycling competition feature athletes with a visual impairment, cerebral palsy, amputations or other physical disabilities competing on bicycles, tricycles, tandems and hand cycles.

At London 2012, there will be 32 Paralympic Road Cycling events, with the Road Races and Time Trials supplemented by the Team Relay.

At the Paralympic Games there will be 12 classes in Cycling. Tandem has one class, handcycle has four classes, tricycle has two classes and bicycle has five classes. The lower the athlete’s class number, the greater the impact of their impairment on their ability to cycle.

There are four types of cycles used in Paralympic Cycling:

– A tandem is used by athletes with visual impairment; the athlete sits on the back of the tandem with a sighted pilot at the front.

– A handcycle, as the name suggests, has pedals operated by hand. It has two wheels at the back and one at the front.

– A tricycle is normally used by athletes whose balance would make them unable to race on a two-wheeled bicycle.

– A bicycle is used by all other athletes, often with modifications.

Track

The 50 medal events that make up the Paralympic Cycling competition feature athletes with a visual impairment, cerebral palsy, amputations or other physical disabilities competing on bicycles, tricycles, tandems and hand cycles.

At London 2012, there will be 18 Paralympic Track Cycling events (10 for men, seven for women and one mixed event), which test speed, endurance and teamwork.

At the Paralympic Games there will be 12 classes in Cycling. Tandem has one class, handcycle has four classes, tricycle has two classes and bicycle has five classes. The lower the athlete’s class number, the greater the impact of their impairment on their ability to cycle.

There are four types of cycles used in Paralympic Cycling:

– A tandem is used by athletes with visual impairment; the athlete sits on the back of the tandem with a sighted pilot at the front.

– A handcycle, as the name suggests, has pedals operated by hand. It has two wheels at the back and one at the front.

– A tricycle is normally used by athletes whose balance would make them unable to race on a two-wheeled bicycle.

– A bicycle is used by all other athletes, often with modifications.