Technological innovations have transformed the way disabled athletes access cycling in recent years.

Bradford has a strong collaborative inclusive cycling offer and a cycle fleet that includes traditional two wheeled bicycles but also a massive range of adaptive tricycles that suit a range of needs.

This fleet is well used and well loved in regular weekly sessions, outreach work and as part of elite athlete training. Locally Bradford athletes have pioneered the use of specially customised and modified power-assist, hand-crank tricycles to enable them to be included in mainstream cycling challenges and sessions.

Whilst the use of power assist is currently excluded in both Paralympic and Special Olympics competitions, Bradford cyclists have used this technological innovation to cycle great distances including from Bradford to its twin cities of Hamm in Germany and Roubaix in France as well as the English ‘Coast 2 Coast’ challenge and ‘Ways of the Roses’ routes.

Such a feat would have been virtually impossible for nearly all hand cranking cyclists to imagine only a decade ago.