# Cycling at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

Cycling at the 2016 Summer Paralympics consisted of 50 events in two main disciplines, track cycling and road cycling. The venues were the Rio Olympic Velodrome for track cycling in the Barra Cluster, and the Flamengo Park for the road cycling disciplines in the Copacapana Cluster. Seventeen events were contested on the track, and 33 on the road.

## Classification

Cyclists are given a classification depending on the type and extent of their disability. This method is known as a functional system and was introduced in 2012. Athletes are classified according to their functional ability across four broad categories (blind or partially sighted tandem, handcycle, tricycle and standard bicycle). The class number indicates the severity of impairment with "1" being most impaired. The classification system allows cyclists to compete against others with a similar level of function.
Riders with recovering or deteriorating conditions such as MS are eligible but must have been reclassified within six months of a World Championships or Paralympic Games to ensure their classification is correct. Specialised equipment including prostheses is only allowed where it has been specifically approved.

### B – tandem bicycle

This class is for athletes who have visual impairments and therefore ride tandem bicycles with a guide (known as a pilot). They may have any level of visual impairment from no light perception in either eye through to a visual acuity of 6/60 and/or a visual field of less than 20 degrees.

### H (1-5) – handcycle

This class is for athletes who are lower limb amputees, have paraplegia or tetraplegia and ride a handcycle using arms to turn pedals for propulsion. H1–4 cyclists compete in a lying position, whereas H5 cyclists compete in a kneeling position.

### T (1-2) – tricycle

This class is for athletes who have a neurological condition or an impairment which has a comparable effect on their cycling so that they are not able to compete on a standard bicycle for reasons of balance.

### C (1-5) – standard bicycle

This class is for athletes with moderate locomotion impairment who do not require a tricycle. In many cases a modification will be allowed to accommodate a leg or arm prosthesis.

### Factored events

Some cycling events, 16 in total across track and road, are factored. This can happen when cyclists from different classes compete against each other and means that the results take into account the severity of the impairments of each competitor. As a result, some riders within an event will have their times ‘factored’ while other riders will not, or will have their time factored in a different calculation. The gold medal goes to the athlete with the fastest time after all the required times have been calculated. It is therefore possible for an athlete to break a paralympic or world record in their event for their specific classification, but to finish behind a differently classified athlete in that event after factoring. In such a case, the record is still treated as an official World, or as the case may be, Paralympic Games record within their classification for that event.
Factoring should not be confused with certain events where athletes with a greater impairment are entitled to compete in a race for athletes with a 'lesser' impairment, for example double amputees (such as Oscar Pistorius) in a single leg amputee athletics race alongside runners such as Jonnie Peacock or Richard Browne. In such races, no factoring is taken into account. In cycling, a number of the road races are cross-classification and non-factored despite factoring taking place in the time trial for the same classifications.

## Events

Events in each classification, including factored events in joined classifications are set out below.
| Classification → Event ↓ | B | C | C | C | C | C | T | T | H | H | H | H | H |
| Classification → Event ↓ | B | C1 | C2 | C3 | C4 | C5 | T1 | T2 | H1 | H2 | H3 | H4 | H5 |
| Road cycling ||||||||||||||
| Men's road race | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | | ● | ● | ● | ● |
| Women's road race | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● |
| Men's time trial | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | | ● | ● | ● | ● |
| Women's time trial | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● |
| Mixed relay | | | | | | | | | | ● | ● | ● | ● |
| Track cycling ||||||||||||||
| Men's 1 km time trial | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | | | | | | | |
| Men's individual pursuit | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | | | | | | | |
| Women's 500m time trial | | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | | | | | | | |
| Women's 1000m time trial | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Women's individual pursuit | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | | | | | | | |
| Mixed team sprint | | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | | | | | | | |
* B: Blind or partially sighted, tandem bicycle
* H: Handcycle
* T: Tricycle
* C: Standard bicycle, with modifications

## Participating nations

235 cyclists from 45 nations competed.
* Argentina (4)
* Australia (12)
* Austria (4)
* Belgium (7)
* Brazil (4)
* Canada (11)
* China (11)
* Colombia (6)
* Costa Rica (1)
* Cuba (1)
* Czech Republic (8)
* Denmark (2)
* Dominican Republic (1)
* Estonia (1)
* Finland (2)
* France (5)
* Germany (14)
* Ghana (1)
* Great Britain (15)
* Greece (3)
* Hungary (1)
* Iran (1)
* Ireland (7)
* Israel (1)
* Italy (12)
* Japan (4)
* Luxembourg (2)
* Malaysia (2)
* Netherlands (13)
* New Zealand (6)
* Norway (1)
* Peru (1)
* Poland (8)
* Portugal (2)
* Romania (2)
* Slovakia (4)
* Slovenia (1)
* South Africa (6)
* South Korea (3)
* Spain (9)
* Sweden (4)
* Switzerland (7)
* Ukraine (1)
* United States (22)
* Venezuela (2)

## Medal summary

As at the Olympic Games, Great Britain had a clear lead in the medal table based on dominance within the velodrome, particularly in the female events where Kadeena Cox became the first British paralympian in 32 years to win golds in two different sports at the same Games, and Sarah Storey confirmed herself as the most successful female paralympian from Great Britain, overtaking the record set by fellow peer Tanni Grey-Thompson.
On the road, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy were dominant, with racing driver turned handcyclist Alex Zanardi winning two gold medals and a silver to add to an identical haul from London in 2012. The United States, Australia and China also won more than ten medals each across the 50 events.

### Medal table
#### Key

* Host nation (Brazil)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Great Britain (GBR) | 12 | 3 | 6 | 21 |
| 2 | Germany (GER) | 8 | 3 | 4 | 15 |
| 3 | Netherlands (NED) | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| 4 | Italy (ITA) | 5 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
| 5 | United States (USA) | 4 | 9 | 5 | 18 |
| 6 | Australia (AUS) | 3 | 7 | 3 | 13 |
| 7 | China (CHN) | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 8 | Poland (POL) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 9 | Ireland (IRL) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 10 | Slovakia (SVK) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 11 | Ukraine (UKR) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | Canada (CAN) | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| 13 | South Africa (RSA) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | Austria (AUT) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 | Japan (JPN) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 16 | Spain (ESP) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 17 | Belgium (BEL) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 17 | Brazil (BRA)* | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 17 | New Zealand (NZL) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 20 | South Korea (KOR) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | Colombia (COL) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 22 | France (FRA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 22 | Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (23 entries) | Totals (23 entries) | 50 | 50 | 50 | 150 |

### Road cycling
#### Men's events

| Event | Class | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Time trial details | B | Steve Bate Great Britain | Vincent Ter Schure Netherlands | Kieran Modra Australia |
| Time trial details | H2 | Luca Mazzone Italy | Will Groulx United States | Brian Sheridan United States |
| Time trial details | H3 | Vittorio Podestà Italy | Walter Ablinger Austria | Charles Moreau Canada |
| Time trial details | H4 | Rafał Wilk Poland | Thomas Fruhwirth Austria | Vico Merklein Germany |
| Time trial details | H5 | Alessandro Zanardi Italy | Stuart Tripp Australia | Oscar Sanchez United States |
| Time trial details | C1 | Michael Teuber Germany | Ross Wilson Canada | Giancarlo Masini Italy |
| Time trial details | C2 | Tristen Chernove Canada | Colin Lynch Ireland | Liang Guihua China |
| Time trial details | C3 | Eoghan Clifford Ireland | Masaki Fujita Japan | Michael Sametz Canada |
| Time trial details | C4 | Jozef Metelka Slovakia | Kyle Bridgwood Australia | Patrik Kuril Slovakia |
| Time trial details | C5 | Yegor Dementyev Ukraine | Alistair Donohoe Australia | Lauro César Chaman Brazil |
| Time trial details | T1–2 | Hans-Peter Durst Germany | Ryan Boyle United States | David Stone Great Britain |
| Road race details | B | Vincent Ter Schure Netherlands | Ignacio Ávila Spain | Steve Bate Great Britain |
| Road race details | H2 | Will Groulx United States | Luca Mazzone Italy | Tobias Fankhauser Switzerland |
| Road race details | H3 | Paolo Cecchetto Italy | Maximilian Weber Germany | Charles Moreau Canada |
| Road race details | H4 | Vico Merklein Germany | Rafał Wilk Poland | Joël Jeannot France |
| Road race details | H5 | Ernst van Dyk South Africa | Alessandro Zanardi Italy | Jetze Plat Netherlands |
| Road race details | C1-3 | Steffen Warias Germany | Kris Bosmans Belgium | Fabio Anobile Italy |
| Road race details | C4-5 | Daniel Abraham Gebru Netherlands | Lauro César Chaman Brazil | Andrea Tarlao Italy |
| Road race details | T1–2 | Hans-Peter Durst Germany | David Stone Great Britain | Néstor Ayala Ayala Colombia |

#### Women's events

| Event | Class | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Time trial details | B | Katie George Dunlevy Ireland | Yurie Kanuma Japan | Lora Turnham Great Britain |
| Time trial details | H1–3 | Karen Darke Great Britain | Alicia Dana United States | Francesca Porcellato Italy |
| Time trial details | H4–5 | Dorothee Vieth Germany | Andrea Eskau Germany | Laura de Vaan Netherlands |
| Time trial details | C1–3 | Alyda Norbruis Netherlands | Denise Schindler Germany | Zeng Sini China |
| Time trial details | C4 | Shawn Morelli United States | Megan Fisher United States | Susan Powell Australia |
| Time trial details | C5 | Sarah Storey Great Britain | Anna Harkowska Poland | Samantha Bosco United States |
| Time trial details | T1–2 | Carol Cooke Australia | Jill Walsh United States | Shelley Gautier Canada |
| Road race details | B | Iwona Podkościelna Poland | Katie George Dunlevy Ireland | Emma Foy New Zealand |
| Road race details | H1-4 | Christiane Reppe Germany | Lee Do-yeon South Korea | Francesca Porcellato Italy |
| Road race details | H5 | Andrea Eskau Germany | Laura de Vaan Netherlands | Jennette Jansen Netherlands |
| Road race details | C1-3 | Jamie Whitmore United States | Zeng Sini China | Denise Schindler Germany |
| Road race details | C4-5 | Sarah Storey Great Britain | Anna Harkowska Poland | Crystal Lane Great Britain |
| Road race details | T1–2 | Carol Cooke Australia | Jill Walsh United States | Jana Majunke Germany |

#### Mixed events

| Event | Class | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Team Relay details | H2-5 relay | Italy Vittorio Podesta Luca Mazzone Alessandro Zanardi | United States William Lachenauer Will Groulx Oscar Sanchez | Belgium Jean-François Deberg Christophe Hindricq Jonas Van de Steene |

### Track cycling
#### Men's events

| Event | Class | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1 km time trial details | B | Tristan Bangma Netherlands | Neil Fachie Great Britain | Kai-Christian Kruse Germany |
| 1 km time trial details | C1–3 | Li Zhangyu China | Arnoud Nijhuis Netherlands | Tristen Chernove Canada |
| 1 km time trial details | C4–5 | Jody Cundy Great Britain | Jozef Metelka Slovakia | Alfonso Cabello Spain |
| Individual pursuit details | B | Steve Bate Great Britain | Vincent ter Schure Netherlands | Stephen de Vries Netherlands |
| Individual pursuit details | C1 | Li Zhangyu China | Ross Wilson Canada | Arnoud Nijhuis Netherlands |
| Individual pursuit details | C2 | Liang Guihua China | Tristen Chernove Canada | Louis Rolfe Great Britain |
| Individual pursuit details | C3 | David Nicholas Australia | Joseph Berenyi United States | Eoghan Clifford Ireland |
| Individual pursuit details | C4 | Jozef Metelka Slovakia | Kyle Bridgwood Australia | Diego Dueñas Colombia |
| Individual pursuit details | C5 | Yegor Dementyev Ukraine | Alistair Donohoe Australia | Edwin Fabián Mátiz Ruiz Colombia |

#### Women's events

| Event | Class | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Time trial details | C1–3 (500 m) | Alyda Norbruis Netherlands | Amanda Reid Australia | Song Zhenling China |
| Time trial details | C4–5 (500 m) | Kadeena Cox Great Britain | Zhou Jufang China | Ruan Jianping China |
| Time trial details | B (1 km) | Sophie Thornhill Great Britain | Larissa Klaassen Netherlands | Jessica Gallagher Australia |
| Individual pursuit details | B | Lora Turnham Great Britain | Emma Foy New Zealand | Sophie Thornhill Great Britain |
| Individual pursuit details | C1–3 | Megan Giglia Great Britain | Jamie Whitmore United States | Alyda Norbruis Netherlands |
| Individual pursuit details | C4 | Shawn Morelli United States | Susan Powell Australia | Megan Fisher United States |
| Individual pursuit details | C5 | Sarah Storey Great Britain | Crystal Lane Great Britain | Samantha Bosco United States |

#### Mixed events

| Event | Class | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Team Sprint details | C1–5 | Great Britain Louis Rolfe Jon-Allan Butterworth Jody Cundy | China Xie Hao Wei Guoping Liu Xinyang | Spain Amador Granados Eduardo Santas Alfonso Cabello |