The 2026 UCI Para Cycling Road World Cup is about to kick off, with the first of three rounds taking place on the streets of Chiang Mai, Thailand, on 19-22 March. This round - the first to be organised in Asia - will be followed by rounds in Middelkerke (Belgium) and Abruzzo (Italy) in April and May.
At the mid-way point of the Paralympic cycle, athletes will also be looking to develop their form and score qualifying points for Los Angeles 2028. The UCI Para Cycling Road World Cup is also important in qualification for the 2026 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships taking place in Huntsville, Alabama (USA) in September.
Racing in Thailand
More than 200 athletes representing 37 nations are on the entry list for round one in Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand, in the north-west of the country, in and around the campus of the Chiang Mai Rajabhat University.
As usual the UCI Para Cycling Road World Cup will feature time trials (TT) and road races for men and women across the sport classes: cycle (C), handcycle (H), tricycle (T) and tandem (B). The opening day of competition will also see the popular mixed handcycle team relay.
Some early-season form was tested and new names emerged at the recent 13th Asean Para Games held in Thailand in late January 2026. Contributing to a dominant performance across the Games for the host nation, there were para cycling home wins for 21-year-old Patcharapha Seesen (women’s H2 time trial) and 16-year-old Patiphat Hemphitak in the Men’s B road race. Other highlights included victories for Malaysia’s Nur Azlia Syafinaz Mohd Zais in the women’s B road race and Indonesia’s Sufyan Saori in the men’s C5 road race and TT.
Riders to watch
Successful athletes from the 2025 UCI Para Cycling Road World Cup to look out for include Italy’s Claudia Cretti (WC5 overall winner), Brazilian Sabrina Custodia Da Silva (ranked 3rd overall in the WC2 sport class) and the USA’s Samantha Bosco (4th in the 2025 UCI Para Cycling Road World Cup despite competing in just one of the two rounds).
On the men’s side, there’s Poland’s Zbigniew Maciejewski (MC1 overall winner in 2025) and Frenchman Gatien Le Rousseau (2nd MC4 rider overall last year). Meanwhile Thai athlete Attachai Siriwichai (MH5) will be looking for a home success in Chiang Mai after finishing fourth overall in last year’s UCI Para cycling Road World Cup.
2026 UCI Para Cycling Road World Cup calendar
19-22 March: Round 1 in Chiang Mai, Thailand
28 April-01 May: Round 2, in Middelkerke, Belgium
7-10 May: Round 3 in Abruzzo, Italy.
Para cycling sport classes
C – Cycle: conventional bike with adaptations if necessary
T – Tricycle: three-wheeled bike
B – Tandem: for visually impaired athletes with sighted pilot
H – Handcycle
These groups are divided into different sport classes – C (1-5), T (1-2) and H (1-5) –, with the lower the number indicating a higher level of impairment.