Images will be available here from 16:00
26 national teams will train at the venue, taking advantage of the unique opportunity to familiarise themselves with the 8km course which starts and finishes at the racetrack at Brands Hatch and runs through Kent county and the district of Sevenoaks in Kent.
Athletes and team staff got to grips with the carefully chosen venue and course which is specifically designed to provide a suitable and challenging race circuit for for the many and varied classified race categories. London 2012 staff and volunteers used the day to test their Games time operations and processes including transport, accreditation, technology, timing and workforce.
Chris Holmes, LOCOG Director of Paralympic Integration said: “As some of the world’s greatest cyclists prepare here today with just 70 days to go, I’m delighted that we’re bringing the Paralympic Games to Kent this summer. With tickets now on sale for the best view of the races and medals available on every day of competition, I recommend that everyone take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity to see sport like never before in the garden of England."
Debbie Jevans, London 2012 Director of Sport said: “Paralympic Cycling is a truly incredible sport and what we have seen here today has given an exciting taste of the dynamic, challenging and interesting sport we can expect to see in a few months. It was very important that we created an opportunity for these world class athletes and staff to see the venue, test the course and look around the venue at which they will challenge for medals in September.”
At Games time, the venue, will host up to 225 athletes, 155 men and 70 women across Road Cycling from 5 - 8 September.
At the Beijing Games in 2008 Great Britain took home five of the 23 gold medals available, with David Stone, Sarah Storey and Darren Kenny – the most successful Paralympic cyclist ever - among the team’s stars. In Brands Hatch this summer the likes of Czech world champion Jiri Jezek and Italian former F1 driver Alex Zanardi will be hoping to challenge for a place on the podium.
Tickets for prime viewing positions at the Road Cycling in September are still available on a first come first served basis at www.tickets.london2012.com starting at £10, or just £5 for young people and seniors.
The 8km circuit at Brands Hatch is completed a different number of times based on the event distance and the athlete’s racing category. Approximately 25% of the course is contains uphill sections, with a gradient of up to 6%. The route includes some challenging bends, turns and technical sections. Unlike most road cycling events, the final 1km of the circuit unfolds in front of the spectators, providing a unique experience for those lucky enough to have secured tickets to what will surely be one of the genuine surprise packages of the Paralympic Games.
Brands Hatch is an internationally-renowned motor racing circuit near Sevenoaks in Kent. Once used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 British Formula One Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events.
Images from the training day are available at: http://mm.gettyimages.com/mm/nicePath/locog?nav=pr169456931
For more information about Paralympic Cycling visit: http://www.london2012.com/paralympics/cycling-road/about/
For more about Classification visit: http://www.london2012.com/paralympics/cycling-road/classification/
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Notes to editors:
For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100 or visit the website at www.london2012.com.
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About CitySafe Zones
A CitySafe Zone is a street or neighbourhood with CitySafe Havens and a London CITIZENS member community that has agreed to organise the communities for peace, work closely with the police and ensure the traders and neighbours all know each other and meet regularly to ensure the ‘Zone’ offers protection and security and positive relationships for the future.
London 2012 Games partners:
The Worldwide Olympic Partners who support the London 2012 Olympic Games and the National Olympic Committees around the world are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.
LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield.
There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games-only Partner, Sainsbury’s and two domestic Tier Three Paralympic Games-only Suppliers, Otto Bock and Panasonic. The London 2012 Paralympic Games also acknowledges the support of the National Lottery.
