Cycling wasn't introduced into the Paralympic program until the 1984 New York/Mandeville Games.  The competition took place in Mandeville, England, among athletes with cerebral palsy.  The expanded Paralympic program, which includes the modern-day classifications, didn't appear until the Barcelona Games in 1992.  At the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, handcycling (for wheelchair users) made its debut as a medal event.

Athletes compete on the track (velodrome) and on the roads.  Track events generally consist of sprints as short as 200 meters to time trials and pursuits up to 4 km.  Relay races consisting of three-person teams are also contested on the track.

Competition on the roads consists of time trials and road races.  In time trials, athletes start individually in staggered intervals, racing mostly against themselves and the clock.  Road races consist of mass starts.  Distances vary based on the host country's discretion.  Distances range from 5 km to 65 km in length.

Paralympic cycling competition is open to male and female athletes with physical disabilities such as amputation/limb loss, blindness/visual impairment, spinal cord injury/wheelchair-users and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke.

E-mail your questions about cycling.  Find a local program in your community - visit the Paralympic Activity Network.

For more information on disabled cycling, please visit:

USA Cycling

Carmichael Training Systems

Lehigh Valley Velodrome

The International Blind Sports Federation's (IBSA) cycling page