Prelude to Tokyo: Team USA Rolls into 2021 Paralympic Cycling Season in Huntsville

The Rocket City is quickly becoming a city of elite athletic events.

The latest jewel in Huntsville’s crown is the Huntsville Paralympic Cycling Open – a stepping-stone event for the 2021 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

After a year of postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Tommy Battle announced Huntsville, in partnership with the U.S. Paralympics Cycling Committee and presenting sponsor Toyota, will open the 2021 Paralympic Cycling’s national calendar here next spring. 

Battle has long said Huntsville is quickly becoming the location of choice for athletic events and with more than 100 elite Paralympic athletes competing April 17-18, 2021, the elite U.S. Paralympic Cycling Team will not disappoint. Huntsville Paralympic Cycling Open is a key stop for cyclists looking to make it to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics next year.

“At a time when our country and world is dealing with a pandemic and unease around the future of sports, this event can inspire us and unite us,” said Battle. “The event requires a lot of planning and Medalist Sports has been working with Toyota, the City of Huntsville, the Huntsville Madison County Chamber of Commerce, Cummings Research Park, and the Huntsville Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau for several months to make the event happen.

“The event has been in the works a long time, ever since the U.S. Paralympic Cycling Committee representatives visited Huntsville in October 2019 to scout a venue that would work well for this event. They really liked what they found in Cummings Research Park.”

He said Cummings Research Park has hosted several 5k and cycling events and that played a large part in the decision. It is also relatively calm on weekends in terms of traffic. 

“The Paralympic Committee is continuing to work with Toyota and our local leaders to make sure things go smoothly for the race planners, athletes, families, and the sports teams,” said Battle.

Team USA athletes have continued their training throughout 2020, despite the pandemic, to stay in top shape as they get ready to compete again and qualify for the Tokyo Paralympics. 

“The Huntsville Paralympic Cycling Open is not only our domestic road cycling season opener for our Paralympic athletes, but it will be their first major return to competition on the road after we have reset things due to the pandemic in 2020,” said Ian Lawless, director of Paralympic Cycling. “We have had no road events either domestic or internationally this year, so Huntsville will be an opportunity for 100 Paralympic cycling athletes to compete in a beautiful venue, as part of their road to Tokyo.”

The Paralympic athletes will be competing in Europe in May 2021 to earn final spots for the Tokyo games. The roster will be comprised of winners from the Huntsville Open, making it a crucial event to the athletes’ path to Tokyo.

“We are super excited and of course we will be working with the CDC and the Paralympic sports medicine team and Paralympic Committee to put on an event that is safe for our athletes and for the community, and we will be working with local authorities in Huntsville to do so,” said Lawless.

“We appreciate all the folks involved in the local organizing committee, Mayor Battle and our partner with both Toyota Alabama and Toyota nationally for their support, not only of this event, but the Paralympic cycling program at the U.S. Olympics and the Paralympic committee.”

As the presenting sponsor, Battle said this is another example of how Toyota is so supportive of our community and will be active in helping make this event a reality.

“As a longstanding partner with the city of Huntsville and with the Chamber, it is truly an honor for Toyota to present this wonderful opportunity for our community and for the Toyota Alabama team members to show the world what Huntsville has to offer,” said Kim Ogle, manager of Corporate Communications for Toyota Alabama. “This partnership further identifies our commitment to sustainable societies through mobility and to reiterate that no matter the challenge, when a person is free to move, anything is really possible, and no one knows this better than the amazing athletes who will compete at the U.S. Paralympic Cycling Open. 

“They have fought against adversity throughout their lives, yet they never gave up the dream of representing their country at the highest level … this campaign truly reflects the Olympic and Paralympics spirit of encouragement, challenge and progress and aims to inspire our employees, our partners, and our customers to dream the impossible dream. And in this spirit, we look forward to welcoming Team USA athletes as they go for the gold.”

Lawless said fans should expect to see an exciting event with high stakes, and athletes competing at a world-class level.

“We expect to see many of the same names in Huntsville, later competing in Tokyo,” said Lawless.

The event begins with individual time trials on Saturday, April 17. The athletes will compete within their categories, all day against the clock on a 15 km course. 

On Sunday, there will be a road race with about 12 different races throughout the day where athletes within their categories race varying distances on a 12km course. Those races consist of men’s and women’s road races and hand cycling team relays with multiple laps depending on their category.

“In Paralympic cycling there are races in different categories for people of varying disabilities based on their level of function and the type of bikes they ride, whether they ride a handcycle or a 2-wheel bike with or without an adaptation, or a tandem for visually impaired riders,” said Lawless. “They participate with a sighted pilot on the front.”

He said they also have athletes with neurologic impairments compete on a 3-wheel upright trike.

“It is a mass start race, but I think most importantly, what you’ll see is athletes returning to competition for the first time on the road since September 2019,” said Lawless. “That is a long time for our athletes to be off from competition domestically and internationally.”

The event will feature the best Paralympic athletes in the nation can show not only the local community, but the world what they can do, and how elite they are in terms of their athletic ability. 

Oz Sanchez, a three-time Paralympian champion who competed in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Games, is also a six-time Paralympic medalist. 

“I am absolutely looking forward to our first race in Huntsville next year where I will most definitely plan on competing,” he said. “It’s going to be the benchmark for what we are going to look like the rest of the season, and hopefully a good indicator of the fit and feel of the rest of the season.

“An event like this one really gives us that ‘shaking off the cobwebs’ (after a year off in 2020) and seeing what our fitness is like. There is nothing that really replicates the actual feel of a competitive day of racing – the nerves, the edge, the mindset, the psyche – so if we don’t have these sorts of opportunities to dry run the process of competing at a top level, it sets us up for less than ideal or less than desirable performance.”

“I will likely be keeping my campaign head down, remain on-throttle. It will be a benchmark temperament check in Huntsville,” said Sanchez. “I keep my mind and my eye on the prize – Tokyo – that is where it all ends, and Huntsville will be thoroughly pleased with the caliber of athletes they see here. Huntsville will be like a miniature championship as far as I’m concerned.”

There is no charge for admission or tickets required to attend any of the events.

“The beauty of roadside cycling worldwide is that it is available to the general public and to the community to come out and watch,” said Lawless. “If you have seen professional cycling like the Tour de France on TV for example, traditionally there are thousands of fans on the side of the road.

“In 2020, the Paralympic Committee worked hard to figure out how to run outdoor professional cycling events in a safe way.  They have been recognized for setting the bar high and coming up with new standards on how to run a road cycling competition that is still open and free and available to the public in a way that protects the athletes, protects staff working on the event, and protects the community and spectators all in attendance.” 

He said that is the standard they will be following in working with the city, the state, and national authorities, as well as the CDC and their sports medicine team, to ensure protocols and parameters are in place to keep everyone safe.

“We are excited about having a host community and local organizing committee who is investing a lot into this event, as well as great support from Toyota,” said Lawless.