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| The speed and excitement inherent in all cycling
competitions is very much a part of the cycling events in the Paralympic
Games. Cycling competitons are relatively new for athletes with
disabilities. In the early eighties, the visually impaired were the
first group of athletes to compete, and athletes with cerebral palsy and
amputees began racing at the International Games for the Disabled in
1984. Up until the 1992 Paralympics, the competitons for each of these
different groups were held separately. Then, at the Barcelona Games,
spectators witnessed intense competitions in both track and road races
between althletes in all three disabilit groups.
The cycling events are divided into individual and team (a group of three cyclists from one nation) events. Athletes with cerebral palsy compete using standard racing bikes and, in some classes, tricycles. Athletes who are blind or visually impaired compete on tandem bicycles with a sighted teammate, and they participate in the road race and the time trial events. Finally, amputees and cyclists with permanent locomotor deficiencies compete in individual road race events using cycles specifically constructed for their needs. |
Cycling