Para-cycling

Sports Summary

Cycling is a relatively new sport for Paralympians, with the visually impaired athletes the first group to take part. Cerebral palsy and athletes with limb loss or limb deficiency followed, joining the competition in 1984.

Cycling is divided into track and road events. Visually impaired athletes compete on tandem bicycles with a sighted team mate (pilot). These athletes can compete in both track and road events.

Cyclists with limb loss or deficiency, spinal cord or nerve damage; or cerebral palsy/ acquired brain injury or similar conditions compete in track and road events using bicycles modified for their needs. Riders may use a standard bike, handcycle or trike depending on their level of impairment.

Links

International Paralympic Committee

Cycling Australia

Union of Cyclists International

Events & Disciplines

Track events – Time Trial, Individual Pursuit, Team Sprint, Tandem Sprint
Road events – Road Race, Time Trial

Classification

Who is eligible for Cycling? Athletes with a vision impairment or physical impairment.

What are the classes? Athletes are classified into classes depending on their functional ability. Athletes are given classifications with a prefix B, C, T or H to indicate the type of bike an athlete uses during competition.

Athletes with a vision impairment: B1-B3 (Tandem bicycle)
Athletes with a physical impairment: C1-C5 (2 wheeled bicycle), T1-T2 (tricycle), H1- H4 (handcycle).

More: Para-cycling Classification Information Sheet (updated October 2019)

How do I get a classification? Find out more about seeking a Cycling Classification.

Classification Masterlist: Cycling Australia manages the National Cycling Classification Masterlist. This list includes athletes who have been classified as per UCI Classification Rules or Paralympics Australia Classification Policy.

Rules & Equipment

Road cycling takes place on public roads, which are closed to traffic.

Track cycling takes place on a velodrome made up of two straight sides and two curved ends. International regulations require the length of the track to be such that a whole number of laps or half laps shall give a distance of 1km with a width of 7-10m.

Bicycles, Tricycles, Tandems and Handcycles must conform to the technical regulations of the Union Cyclists International (UCI) and IPC Cycling Rules.

Helmet: During competition, athletes must wear a hard shell protective helmet to a recognized international standard. The helmet colour is standardized depending on the class of the athlete (red, blue, green or white).

Medal History

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze	total
2012	6	4	4	14
2008	3	5	7	15
2004	10	7	7	24
2000	10	3	8	21
1996	5	5	0	10

Contacts

We encourage those wishing to explore Para-cycling to contact their state federation in the first instance. The national federation link below provides information on the national high performance program leading to competing internationally and at the Paralympic Games.

National Federation
	Organisation	Website
	Cycling Australia	cycling.org.au
State Federations
State	Organisation	Website
ACT	Cycling ACT	cycling.org.au/act
NSW	Cycling NSW	cycling.org.au/nsw
NT	Cycling NT	cycling.org.au/nt
QLD	Cycling QLD	cycling.org.au/qld
SA	Cycling SA	cycling.org.au/sa
TAS	Cycling TAS	cycling.org.au/tas
VIC	Cycling VIC	cycling.org.au/vic
WA	WestCycle	westcycle.org.au