Roundup: Medal Program, Track Cycling Venue Announced For LA28

Every other week we scour the web for the latest going on in the world of U.S. Para-cycling. Here’s what you missed!

Journey to LA

Three years out, the road toward Los Angeles 2028 is heating up.

Earlier this month, the LA28 Organizing Committee and International Paralympic Committee released some new details about the Paralympic Games, which are set for Aug. 15-27, 2028.

With the addition of sport climbing, the Games will include 552 medal events across 22 sports, including cycling, with quota spots for 4,400 athletes. Among those initial quotas are 1,967 for female athletes. As a result, LA28 will be both the biggest and most-gender balanced Paralympic Games yet.

Between the road and track cycling disciplines, the sport will have 51 medal events — 28 for men, 21 for women and two mixed — for a total of 220 athletes.

See the full list of quote spots and medal events here.

Several LA28 venues were also announced, including that for track cycling. Those races will be held at the VELO Sports Center’s velodrome in Carson, California, a venue with a 250-meter track that is located about 18 miles south of Los Angeles. Para archery and wheelchair tennis events will also take place in Carson.

See the LA28 Paralympic Games venue plan here.

The VELO velodrome is a familiar venue to U.S. cyclists, some of whom will be competing there this weekend at the U.S. Paralympics Cycling Track Open.

The course for the road cycling events is still to be determined.

Here’s the list of all medal events for the Para sports in Los Angeles.

Testing & Riding

Ryan Pinney, a 2020 Paralympian, headed to the lab for some testing once the world cups were over in May.

“VO2 + LaMax testing today to dial in the engine for the rest of the season,” Pinney posted on Instagram. “While it wasn’t done in Coach Ralf’s legendary lab in Germany, @leistungsdiagnostikhannover the crew at the @gccaz Sports Performance Lab absolutely delivered. Big thanks to the team for the precision, professionalism, and great vibes!”

The test measures the amount of oxygen that an individual can use during intense exercise, or a race. The Sports Performance Lab at Glendale Community College in Arizona measures performance rates for competitive endurance and recreational athletes.

Anniversary Celebration

Jamie Whitmore, a three-time Paralympian, celebrated her wedding anniversary with husband Brian Meinz in June.

“It’s hard to believe 3 years have passed since the day we said ‘I do!’” Whitmore posted on Instagram. “What an adventure it has been! Bike rides, European adventures, Colombian training camp, game nights and so much more! I can’t imagine life without you!

“Thanks for holding down the fort when I’m gone racing or training, for all the hard work around the house and for going along with every crazy idea I come up with!!”

Health is Wealth

Barry Wilcox, who swept the gold medals in both the road race and time trial at this spring’s two world cup stops in Europe, is praising a message proudly: Health is Wealth.

“This is it. Prioritize the physical, mental, spiritual, nutritional, aspects of your life!” he wrote on Instagram. “Do it!!! Probably healthiest I’ve been in the 30 years post spinal cord injury, and fired up about life.”

Jim Lehman, Wilcox’s coach, says consistency has been a big factor in Wilcox’s season.

“He’s been very consistent with his training and diet, just the attention to detail,” Lehman told USParaCycling.org. “This year, things have fallen into place, and usually momentum takes over at that point.”

Read more about Wilcox’s journey here.

Double Sports

Dennis Connors, a former U.S. Marine who won a silver medal in cycling in the Paralympic Games Paris 2024, is a Para standout in both cycling and climbing.

He is considering competing in both sports in the Paralympic Games Los Angeles 2028, if the timing works out.

“If it is feasible, I will do both,” Connors told USParaCycling.org. “If it is not feasible, I will make that decision down the road.”

Connors has already won titles in both sports in his classification this year: in cycling at the U.S. Paralympics Cycling Time Trial in Huntsville, Alabama, and in climbing at the Para Climbing National Championships in Oakland, California.

Read more about Connors’ journey here.

Paul D. Bowker has been writing about Olympic and Paralympic sports since 1996, when he was an assistant bureau chief in Atlanta. He is a freelance contributor to USParaCycling.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.