Your information to biking on the 2021 Paralympic Video games in Tokyo
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Observe: This story first appeared on our sister website, CyclingTips.com. You possibly can learn CyclingTips’ full protection of the Paralympics Video games here.
With the Tokyo Olympics now full, it’s time for the world’s finest para athletes to take middle stage. The Tokyo Paralympics started on Tuesday, August 24, and runs by means of Sunday, September 5.
Right here’s a information to understanding the principles, classes, and classifications for the para biking occasions.
The classifications
To grasp the dizzying array of medal occasions on the Paralympics, you first want to grasp paracycling classifications.
In paracycling, athletes are divided into ‘sport lessons’ in line with the kind and severity of their impairment(s). You possibly can see an in depth breakdown of relevant impairments on page 33 of this UCI document, however in essence, there are eight impairments that make an athlete eligible for paracycling:
- Impaired muscle energy (e.g. resulting from a spinal twine harm)
- Impaired passive vary of motion
- Limb deficiency (e.g. a number of amputations)
- Leg size distinction
- Hypertonia: a rise in muscle pressure and the decreased capacity of a muscle to stretch, attributable to injury to the central nervous system (e.g. through cerebral palsy, traumatic mind harm, or a stroke)
- Ataxia: uncoordinated actions attributable to injury to the central nervous system (e.g. through cerebral palsy, traumatic mind harm, or a stroke)
- Athetosis: continuous sluggish involuntary actions (e.g. through cerebral palsy, traumatic mind harm, or a stroke)
- Imaginative and prescient impairment (decreased or no imaginative and prescient)
There are minimal impairment standards that an athlete should attain with a purpose to be eligible for paracycling classification, and standardized assessments that officers use when classifying riders (see page 34 o the UCI guidelines for more information). Totally different ranges of impairment correspond with totally different lessons, with decrease numbers indicating a larger stage of impairment.
As you’ll see beneath, some lessons race collectively whereas others have their very own medal occasion.
Listed here are the biking lessons you’ll see in motion in Tokyo.
H 1-5
Division H occasions are contested by handcyclists. Decrease numbers (e.g. H1 and H2) point out athletes with restrictions to each higher and decrease limbs, whereas larger numbers (e.g. H4 and H5) point out restrictions to their higher limbs solely.
Athletes in lessons H1-4 race on recumbent (i.e. reclined) bikes whereas H5 athletes use bikes that facilitate a kneeling or sitting place.
T 1-2
Division T races are contested by athletes who journey tricycles, resulting from decreased steadiness and/or a extreme restriction that forestalls them from driving a bicycle.
The T1 class is for athletes with extra important coordination impairments, whereas T2 athletes have much less important impairments.
C 1-5
Division C athletes journey a normal bicycle, usually modified to accommodate their impairment(s). As an illustration, an athlete with an arm impairment would possibly use in a different way formed handlebars.
Decrease-numbered lessons (e.g. C1-2) point out a extra extreme limitation in decrease and/or higher limbs.
B
Division B is for vision-impaired athletes who journey a tandem bike piloted by a sighted athlete. Tandem pilots should not be a part of a UCI-registered group, and should not have been a part of a WorldTeam or ProTeam for the earlier 12 months.
Factored occasions
Factored occasions are people who embody athletes from totally different lessons and the place riders’s instances are scaled with a purpose to keep in mind the severity of every competitor’s impairment(s). The purpose is to make sure fairness between lessons.
Some athletes can have their outcomes ‘factored’, whereas others won’t. The gold medal in such occasions is handed to the rider with the quickest time in spite of everything instances have been factored.
For instance, listed below are the elements that apply to Division C street biking occasions (yow will discover tables for different divisions in part 16.1.005 of the UCI’s Paracycling laws).
Within the ladies’s C 1-2-3 time trial in Tokyo, for instance, C3 ladies will get no matter time they journey towards the clock. C2 ladies shall be given a time that’s 96.15 % of their ending time, and for C1 ladies that share is 92.45 %. The rider with the bottom time in spite of everything these calculations will win gold.
One quirk of this method is {that a} rider can break a world document for his or her particular class, however not win the occasion. Observe that whereas a while trials are factored occasions, the equal street races usually are not.
Street races and time trials
Right here’s the total schedule of road cycling medal events at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Street races:
And beneath is a breakdown of all of the street races by class.
| Males | Girls | Blended |
| H 1-2 street race
H 3 street race H4 street race C 1-2-3 street race C 4-5 street race B street race T 1-2 street race |
H 1-2-3-4 street race
H5 street race C 1-2-3- street race C 4-5 street race B street race T 1-2 street race |
H 1-5 group relay |
All street races (besides the blended group relay) will happen on the identical 13.2km circuit that begins and finishes on the Fuji Worldwide Speedway. It’s a lumpy circuit, outlined by a 3.5km climb to the end line.
The variety of laps will range between lessons. All street races shall be held between Wednesday, September 1 and Friday, September 3.
Time trials
All lessons will race on an undulating 8km time trial course throughout the Fuji Worldwide Speedway advanced. As with the street races, the variety of laps will rely upon the category. All time trials shall be held on Tuesday, August 31.
| Males | Girls |
| H 1 ITT
H 2 ITT H 3 ITT H 4 ITT H 5 ITT C 1 ITT C 2 ITT C 3 ITT C 4 ITT B ITT T 1-2 ITT (Factored) |
H 1-2-3 ITT (Factored)
H 4-5 ITT (Factored) C 1-2-3 ITT (Factored) C 4 ITT C 5 ITT B ITT T 1-2 ITT (Factored)
|
Workforce relay
The blended group relay shall be contested by groups of three handcyclists. Every rider will full three laps of a flattish 2.8 km Fuji Speedway course, for a complete of 9 laps per group. Riders two and three might begin their laps when the earlier rider crosses the end line.
Workforce composition is ruled by a factors system, with athletes allotted factors based mostly on their gender and impairment(s). Every group of three should solely have a most of 9 factors, and should embody an athlete with a most rating of two factors. Right here’s the course and profile for the blended relay. The blended group relay shall be held on Thursday, September 2.
Observe biking
Listed here are all the observe biking medal occasions that’ll be taking place on the 250-meter Izu Velodrome.
| Males | Girls | Blended |
| C 1-2-3 Kilo (Factored)
C 4-5 Kilo (Factored) C 1 Pursuit C 2 Pursuit C 3 Pursuit C 4 Pursuit C 5 Pursuit B Kilo B Pursuit
|
C 1-2-3 500m (Factored)
C 4-5 500m (Factored) C 1-2-3 Pursuit C 4 Pursuit C 5 Pursuit B Kilo B Pursuit |
C 1-5 Workforce Dash |
Right here’s a breakdown of the varied disciplines and what they entail:
The ‘Kilo’
A 1km (four-lap) time trial contested by Division B (vision-impaired) women and men, and Division C (normal bicycle) males. Division C ladies contest this self-discipline over 500 meters (two laps).
Pursuit
A person pursuit, with two riders beginning on opposites sides of the observe. First throughout the end line wins. Division B males and C4-5 women and men race over 4,000 meters. C1-3 women and men, plus Division B ladies all race over 3,000m.
Workforce dash
Raced by mixed-gender groups of three Division C riders over three laps. After every lap, the lead rider peels off, permitting the remaining rider(s) to proceed on to the road.
A group is allowed a most of 10 factors when choosing its line-up, with riders allotted factors in line with their gender and impairment(s).
All observe biking occasions shall be held from Wednesday, August 25 to Saturday, August 28. Comply with the hyperlink for a full schedule of track cycling events at the Tokyo Paralympics for extra data.
