Will be Bari the Italian city to host the first Italian Fisdir-Fci Faumcup Championships, the new competition of cycling reserved for athletes with intellectual-relational disabilities. The event, which will take place on May 5th, represents a historic moment for Italian cycling, since for the first time it will award a competitive title to this category of athletes.
The waterfront circuit
The initiative, born from the collaboration between the Italian Cycling Federation (FCI), the Italian Paralympic Sports Federation of Relational Intellectuals (FISDIR) and the Allianz Umana Mente Foundation, will see the participation of 23 athletes from all over Italywho will compete in a time trial on a 2 km circuit set up on the Nazario Sauro seafront in Bari.
The objective of the competition is to also allow athletes with intellectual disabilities, athletes with Down syndrome, high-functioning autistic athletes and athletes who cannot be classified in the previous three categories, to carry out cycling activities in a competitive manner. Therefore, the Faumcup Championships will be an important opportunity to give visibility to Paralympic cycling and to underline the importance of sport as a tool for inclusion and social redemption.
«Finally a void is filled»
«We are particularly pleased to have supported this new initiative. With the Faumcup Championships we want to continue our commitment to inclusive sport and reiterate our message of fairness, so that everyone is guaranteed full access to sport”, he states Maurizio DevescoviGeneral Director of Allianz SpA and president of the Allianz Umana Mente Foundation.
«With the demonstration on May 5th in Bari a void is finally filled, providing competitive activity for an important segment of the sporting population who asks for equal dignity and equal opportunities. Cycling, once again, presents itself as an inclusive sport open to all” he adds Cordiano DagnoniPresident of the FCI.
Previously, athletes with such disabilities could only carry out promotional activities (skill tests) or demonstration activities (trailblazers in competitive events). Now, however, cycling is also among the sports disciplines in which these athletes also have a competitive perspective. In 2021, in fact, the FCI developed a technical regulation that allows athletes with intellectual and relational disabilities, from 16 years of age onwards, to be able to practice competitive cycling, filling a gap for an important portion of the sporting population.
The promotional competition
In addition to the main race, the day in Bari will also see the holding of a promotional skills race for under-16 members and a “pedal” for hand bikes, demonstrating the organizers’ commitment to promoting inclusive cycling to all levels.
