Paracycling: Alem Mumuni's Medal Target

Ghana’s Alem Mumuni will be in action in the Para-road from Wednesday, September 3-5, 2012 at the Brands Hatch in Kent, London.

This is the first time a Ghanaian paracyclist is featuring in such a high profile tournament — a historic moment for the young chap.

He is currently the defending African champion in the C2 category and a gold medalist at the Africa Paracycling championships held in Ghana.

Alem suffered from poliomyelitis at the tender age of six and attained this current status of disability, but this disability never proved inability as he navigates the shores of London in September.

Paracycling Paralympic cycling was originally developed as a sport for blind athletes, who first competed using tandem bicycles. Technological advancements have since opened up the sport to a wider range of athletes; as a result, it is now the third largest sport on the Paralympic programme.

History of Road Cycling at the Paralympics Road Cycling was introduced as a Paralympic sport at the Stoke Mandeville/New York 1984 Paralympics. •Cyclists must wear protective helmets, the colour of which reflects their class. •Hand cycling – for athletes with lower limb disabilities – was introduced at the Athens 2004 Games.

Number of competitors 225: 155 men and 70 women across Road and Track Each country is limited to 14 men and seven women across both disciplines. Classification B – Tandem H1–H4 – athletes use a hand cycle T1–T2 – athletes use a tricycle C1–C5 – athletes use a bicycle, often with modifications The lower the athlete’s class number, the greater the impact of their impairment on their ability to compete. Number of medal events 32 – Men’s and women’s Road Races, men’s and women’s Time Trials across a variety of classifications, and a Mixed Team Relay.

Field of play The Road Race course is an 8km loop including the Brands Hatch circuit and surrounding roads.

The basics The 32 medal events in different classifications that make up the Paralympic Road Cycling competition feature athletes with a visual impairment, cerebral palsy, amputations or other physical disabilities competing on bicycles, tricycles, tandems and hand cycles.

Four types of cycles are 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 hand cycle, 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. . Competition format The men's and women's Road Race and Team events are straight finals. In each event all athletes start together, and the first athlete/team to cross the finish line is the winner. In the Time Trials, athletes start at 60-second intervals. The one to complete the course in the fastest time is the winner. The Team Relay events will be conducted as mass start events on a looped course. Each team will consist of three riders, with no baton or other physical contact required to enact the relays. The race will be six laps long, with each rider doing two laps.

Officials All of the Road Cycling races are officiated by International and National Technical Officials ITOs and NTOs). They are responsible for the running of the race in accordance with the UCI rules. For the Paralympic Games Road Cycling events, there will be six ITOs and 10 NTOs.

Keys to success Road Cycling events are extremely tactical, so as well as the immense strength and stamina athletes will need to complete the course, the winning athletes are those who have judged their pace and positioning to the smallest detail. Without the stamina required, riders are in danger of getting left out of any breakaway groups and be left back with the main pack. Races can also be crowded in places – bumps and crashes are not uncommon, and athletes need to stay alert to keep out of trouble.