Alicia Dana trains in Belgium. (Photo: Casey Gibson)

Many of the country’s best Para-cyclists will take another step toward Tokyo this weekend as they hit the road in Ostend, Belgium for the 2021 UCI Para-Cycling Road World Cup. For most of Team USA, it will be their first international competition since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Competition kicks off May 6 and runs through May 9, and the event will serve as the second Paralympic qualification opportunity as athletes look to qualify for the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

“It feels amazing to be back with the international Para-cycling community, even though things look a bit different in these times,” Paralympic hopeful Clara Brown wrote on Instagram. “Only a few more days until we all get to test our legs (and arms) for the first time in nearly two years! Cannot wait.”

Brown, who took gold in the women’s C3 15km time trial at the U.S. Paralympics Open in Huntsville two weeks ago, headlines an impressive roster of U.S. athletes who made the trip overseas.The team includes Paralympic medalists Oksana Masters, Samantha Bosco, Alicia Dana, Joe Berenyi, Jamie Whitmore and Jill Walsh. Noah Middlestaedt, Chester Triplett and sighted pilot Michael Bissette, Ryan Pinney, Kyle Pitman and Ryen Reed are among the group of recent Huntsville gold medalists who will compete in Ostend. A total of 38 U.S. athletes made the trek overseas for an opportunity to participate in the weekend’s event.

For Whitmore, traveling again following the COVID-19 shutdown has been an adventure.

“It’s been one of the best trips here to date since we’ve had the extra time to really get some training in,” she posted on her Instagram. “Normally we only see the race course!”

Two members of Team USA already had the opportunity to race in Belgium. Tandem duo Triplett and his pilot Bissette earned a fourth-place finish in the Flanders Para-cycling Classic, putting together one of their career best performances and passing two bikes in the final 10k of the race.

Following this weekend’s races, athletes will turn toward the final Paralympic qualification event, the U.S. Paralympics Cycling Team Trials in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which take place June 19. At the conclusion of the team trials, the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics team for U.S. Paralympics Cycling will be announced.