The City of Huntsville announces the return of the US Paralympics Cycling Open, April 8-10

US Paralympic Cycling — US US Paralympics Cycling will return to Huntsville. (US Paralympics Cycling / Facebook)

In a 10AM press conference on February 2, Mayor Tommy Battle had a big announcement for Huntsvillians. Last year, the US Paralympics Cycling Open was held right here in Huntsville. If you missed out on your chance to watch the races in person, you’ve been gifted another chance. For 2022, the races will return to Rocket City—April 8-10.

Making the announcement

Mayor Battle and other Huntsville city officials gathered at the AC Hotel in Downtown Huntsville, overlooking Big Spring Park. The mayor began by giving an ode to Huntsville’s sporting scene. As you may know, Huntsville is home to the Rocket City Trash Pandas and the Huntsville Havoc, however, it is also a destination for gymnastics, swimming, volleyball, basketball, soccer and even cycling.

Huntsville has welcomed athletes from all over the world and will continue to do so in 2022.

“We are excited to announce today that Huntsville will welcome back these athletes and many more this April, as we host the next US Paralympics Cycling Open. It will be presented by Toyota, April 8-10. We’re proud to make this announcement and partnership with the US Paralympic Cycling, who has shared the news with cycling fans all over the nation and all over the world.”
—Mayor Tommy Battle, City of Huntsville

Here’s what to expect

The events for the weekend are ticketless and free. What could be better? Last year, there were two days of races in Cummings Research Park. This year, there will be a third day of exciting racing in Downtown Huntsville, around Big Spring Park.

Fun fact: Did you know that Cummings Research Park is the second largest research park in the US and fourth largest in the world?

Here is the schedule for this year’s races:

Friday, April 8: Hand-cycle relays around Big Spring Park, Downtown Huntsville
Saturday, April 9: Time trials in Cummings Research Park
Sunday, April 10: Road races in Cummings Research Park

Welcoming the athletes to Rocket City

The City of Huntsville is excited to welcome the athletes to North Alabama. There will be 150-200 athletes from all over the world. You can expect to see athletes from Canada, Asia, South America, Europe and more. Many athletes will be veterans, making up around 25 percent of participants in the program.

When asked about the economic impact of the US Paralympic Cycling Open, here is what Mayor Battle said:

“It’s nice to have an economic impact but this is also a way that Huntsville gives back to the Paralympic community and gives back to the world at large. It provides a home place for competition in this type of environment. As much as economic impact is important to us, it’s more important for our image and the image we can portray across the nation and across the world by doing this.”
—Mayor Tommy Battle, City of Huntsville

Mayor Battle said the city will share updates as we get closer to the cycling races.