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Paris Paralympics 2024: What is... para-cycling – H classifications?

Paris Paralympics 2024: What is... para-cycling – H classifications?
One event, each day, to help make sense of the Paralympics.

Handcycling is a classification in the Para Cycling competition. The H1-H5 classification is for riders with impairments affecting either both legs or a combination of the upper and lower limbs, and athletes compete in the road race and time trial events. They use a three-wheeled bike powered by the arms and hands, cranking the chain shaft in sync rather than alternating as with a pedal bike. Fun fact: The first handbike was thought to have been invented by the German watchmaker Stephan Farffler in 1655.


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