London 2012 announces Brands Hatch as Paralympic Road Cycling venue

Brands Hatch, near Sevenoaks in Kent, will host the Paralympic Road Cycling events, incorporating the Road Race and Time Trial, from 5-8 September 2012.

LOCOG Chair Seb Coe, Paralympic gold medallist Rachel Morris and Jonathan Palmer, Chief Executive of MotorSport Vision, celebrate the announcement at Brands Hatch

The riders will race round a course that passes through the county of Kent and the district of Sevenoaks in Kent. The former F1 Grand Prix circuit at Brands Hatch will be the base for approximately half of the course including the start and finish. The remaining race will take place on local roads nearby.

This announcement marks the final venue to be confirmed for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and pays homage to Brands Hatch’s cycling routes, as it first developed in the 1920s as a grass track cycle racing venue.
The course was chosen after extensive consultation with the relevant local authorities and stakeholders to find a route that will provide an outstanding experience for both athletes and spectators. It will also allow LOCOG to use much of the existing venue infrastructure at Brands Hatch and is within approximately one hour’s travel time of the Athletes’ Village on the Olympic Park.
Requirements for the Paralympic Road Cycling course are very precise – the course has to be suitable and challenging for a wide variety of disability groups. The requirements are based on a loop course of 7-10km, which is completed a different number of times based on the event distance.

Approximately 25 per cent of the course is uphill sections of not more than six per cent gradient and the route includes some challenging bends or technical sections, while the road width is adequate to allow for bunch sprints in the finish straight.
During the London 2012 Paralympic Games there will be 32 Road Cycling events for men and women with a range of disabilities including visual impairments, cerebral palsy and amputations competing on bicycles, tricycles, tandems and hand cycles.
The events will be ticketed in large part, but part of the route will be free for spectators to line the route providing a fantastic way of watching high profile action. Tickets will cost £10 and there will also be Special Price tickets available (£5 for young people aged 16 and under and seniors aged 60 and over) as well as Group Organiser tickets for large groups which will see them receive additional tickets at no extra cost.

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