Pilot (cycling)
In cycling, pilot refers to a sighted rider who leads a visually impaired cyclist in a tandem race .
Cycling for disabled people has been developing since the 1980s; visually impaired athletes were the pioneers.
Since the Summer Paralympics in 1984 , cycling has been part of the games program, initially for physically handicapped athletes who contested road races on special racing bikes or tricycles . It was not until 1992 that tandem races for visually impaired athletes at Paralympics were held on the streets; Until then, visually impaired athletes had their own competitions. At these games, Frank Höfle won the first gold medal in this discipline behind the driver Hans-Jörg Furrer , which was also held in a race with mixed pairs. In 1996 there were also races with tandems on the track for the first time .
During the races, the sighted pilot (English also captain ) sits on the tandem in front of the visually impaired athlete, the co-pilot (English: stoker), and steers the bike. In order to guarantee equal opportunities, drivers are part of a UCI team belong to, are not licensed as pilots or may only become active as pilots in competitions twelve months after their contract has expired. The pilots must be over 18 years of age and should not have been nominated by their association for elite competitions in the same year. During a competition, the pilot may not be changed (exception: health reasons), driver and pilot must be of the same nationality.
An important element in tandem paracycling is communication between the pilot and the driver.
Since 2007, the Paracycling competitions have been under the aegis of the World Cycling Association UCI and world championships are held annually on track and road (with the exception of the years in which Paralympic Games are held for road competitions). Since then, it has become increasingly attractive for former elite drivers to be active as a pilot in tandem races.
Apart from competitive cycling, “ White Speiche ” clubs have formed nationwide that organize tandem rides for sighted and visually impaired people.
Web links
- On the Proper Training of Tandem Captains by Experienced Stoker. In: bikeaholics.org. Retrieved January 6, 2019 .
- Tandem Etiquette for Pilots. In: Bicycling Blind. Retrieved January 6, 2019 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cycling. In: Paralympic Movement. Retrieved January 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Para-Cycling, Chapter III, p. 7. In: uci.org. July 1, 2018, accessed January 5, 2019 .
- ^ Lauren J. Lieberman: Physical Education and Sports for People with Visual Impairments and Deafblindness. American Foundation for the Blind, 2012, ISBN 978-0-891-28454-3 , p. 256 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
- ↑ DBS - competitive sport - DBS wins cycling professionals for tandems. In: dbs-npc.de. September 16, 2013, accessed January 6, 2019 .
- ↑ Carolin Scholz: "White Speiche" brings blind and sighted people together on a tandem. In: welt.de . September 10, 2018, accessed January 6, 2019 .