Paralympic cycling

[Allen Crisp]

There's a pursuit event which involves a partially-sighted rider at the back of a tandem with a sighted person at the front to do the steering. They both do the pedalling. Does anyone know how the sighted 'pilot' is chosen? Are they allocated at random? Is it a friend of the other rider? If the latter, can they persuade Chris Hoy or Bradley Wiggins, or some other champion cyclist to accompany them, or is there a restriction?

[EvianBaby]

I was wondering along the same lines the other day. How do they know the pilot isn't doing most of the work?

[johnny37]

With respect, seems daft to me.

[twix123]

Barney Storey, who acts as a 'pilot' for TeamGB is a professional cyclist. I believe that Chris Hoy has also been a pilot in the past.

Evian... The two chain wheels are connected at the 'athlete's' pedals, but if you look carefully, the 'pilots' chain wheel appear to be lower geared, which would indicate that the blind rider has to put in the most effort to propel the tandem.

[ABerrant]

Each blind or visually impaired rider is allowed to select only one pilot for the duration of the competition; replacement is only permissible 24 hours or more ahead of an event through injury or certified medical complaint.

The pilot must hold a racing licence but is not eligible if has been:
● a contracted member of a pro team within the last 36 months
● selected for a World Championship within the last 36 months
● selected for a World Cup, regional games or continental championship (e.g. Commonwealth Games, European Championship) within the last 24 months.

[ABerrant]

*oops, missed out 'Olympic Games' to follow 'World Championship', i.e. selection for Olympics makes you ineligible to pilot for 36 months.