Tandem (Para-cycling)
A two-seat bicycle ridden by a sighted pilot at the front and a visually impaired stoker behind, used in para-cycling.
Definition
In para-cycling a tandem is a bicycle built for two riders in line: a sighted "pilot" steers, brakes, and changes gear from the front, while a visually impaired "stoker" rides behind and contributes power through the pedals. The pairing lets blind and partially sighted cyclists race on the track and road at high speed with the pilot handling navigation and safety.
Success on a tandem depends on the two riders synchronising their pedalling, body position, and communication so the bike handles as a single unit. The word tandem also describes any two-person bicycle in everyday cycling, but in a competitive para context it specifically refers to this pilot-and-stoker partnership.
Meaning by sport
This term is used differently across sports:
- Para cycling
- A two-rider bicycle with a sighted pilot steering at the front and a visually impaired stoker providing power behind.
- Cycling (general)
- Any bicycle designed to be ridden by two people seated one behind the other.
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Adaptive sports
- Sports for Blind and Visually Impaired AthletesSports adapted with sound, touch and guiding support so that athletes who are blind or have low vision can take part and compete.
- Adaptive sport terminologyA plain-language guide to common, respectful terms used in adaptive and para sport — and why inclusive language matters.
- Classification in para sportThe system used in para sport to group athletes so that competition is fair — decided by how much an impairment affects a specific sport.
- Adaptive sport organisationsThe bodies and groups — international, national and local — that organise, govern and support adaptive and para sport.
Facilities
- Fitness studioAn open indoor room used for instructor-led group fitness classes such as yoga, aerobics and indoor cycling.
- Sports hallA large indoor hall with multi-sport line markings, used for court sports like basketball, volleyball and badminton.
- Ice rinkA sheet of prepared ice, usually rink-boarded with rounded corners, used for skating and ice sports.
Equipment
- Padel racketA solid, stringless perforated racket used to play padel.
- BasketballA large, inflated ball with a dimpled surface used to play basketball.
- Badminton racketA lightweight strung racket used to hit the shuttlecock in badminton.
- Football (soccer ball)A round, inflated ball used to play association football and futsal.
- Tennis racquetA strung frame with a handle used to hit the ball in tennis.
Knowledge Atlas
- Explore by Adaptive SportInclusive and adaptive sport — understanding, forms, adaptation and getting involved.
- Explore by ScienceThe "why" layer — biomechanics, energy systems, motor learning and training principles behind performance.
- Explore by TechniqueThe specific, named ways skills are executed in each sport — linked to the skills, movements and sports behind them.
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- Content updated
- 2026-08-04
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