Lanzarote is preparing to host the X Vuelta a Playa Blanca on Handbike which will see the participation of 80 “handbikers” of 14 nationalities
During this weekend, the streets of Playa Blanca will be the stage for the tenth edition of a competition which has become a fixture in the Lanzarote ESD calendar, and that will pack the southern town with adapted bikes ridden by both professional and amateur athletes, who will enjoy flying over the routes established by the organisation.
These adapted bikes, known as “handbikes”, are bicycles with three or four wheels that are propelled, steered and braked using the arms. Although initially they were intended for people and athletes who cannot use their legs to propel a bike, more and more athletes are using them to improve their cardiovascular condition, while at the same time developing the muscles of the torso.
A wide range of handbike models exist, ranging from leisure bikes all the way to competition versions, both road and mountain bikes. On this occasion, participants in the X Vuelta a Playa Blanca on Handbike are using road bikes, which are characterized by their more streamlined design. The competition will start on Friday with a 7-km time trial that will begin in the vicinity of Las Salinas del Janubio, continuing on Saturday with a race over a closed circuit of 2.2 kilometres in the centre of Playa Blanca, with the winning cyclist being the athlete who can complete the most laps of the course during the 45 minutes the race lasts.
The event, which for the first time this year will be valid for the European Cup, will be divided into different categories, depending on the mobility of the athletes. The International Cycling Union (ICU) sets a series of categories for adapted cycling depending on three factors: the gender of the participant, the type of bike used according to its physical characteristics and the degree of disability.
Yesterday saw the presentation of the event, during which the island’s Delegate for Tourism Promotion, Ángel Vázquez, offered his thanks and congratulations, expressing his “admiration for handbikers for the effort they make to participate in this event, framed in the strategy of the Society for the External Promotion of Lanzarote (SPEL for its initials in Spanish) SPEL-Tourism for projecting Lanzarote as the perfect destination for the practice of sports”.
If you’re visiting Lanzarote, do not miss the opportunity to cheer on all the participants, and if you want to find out more about the rest of the sporting events, download our Lanzarote European Sports Destination calendar.