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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — In just a few days, some of the best para-athletes in the country will compete in the Rocket City for a chance to represent the United States in the Paralympics.

Cummings Research Park will be the site for three different events that are part of the U.S. Paralympics Cycling Open April 17-18. The competition is cyclists’ second opportunity to qualify for this summer’s Paralympics in Tokyo.

Approximately 100 para-athletes will be in Cummings Research Park to compete. Athletes will race along Explorer Boulevard.

The public is invited to watch the competition and there is no cost to attend. Racing starts at 9 a.m. Saturday and will run until about 3 p.m. Sunday’s races begin at 8:30 a.m. and will end by 4:30 p.m.

Explorer Boulevard will close each morning at 6 a.m. Officials encourage people who plan to come watch to enter on Enterprise Way, Discovery Drive, Voyager Way or Jan Davis Drive.

The course route begins and ends at Columbia High School. That area is not open to the public. The course follows a 15-kilometer lap around Research Park that includes the campus of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, up and around the McMillian Park Double Helix Trail, exiting back and eventually ending at the high school.

Parking can be found in the following areas:

  • Entering on Jan Davis Drive – Sangoma (445 Jan Davis Drive NW) and Collins Aerospace (420 Jan Davis Drive NW)
  • Entering on Voyager Way – ASRC Federal/Aviagen/Yorktown Systems Group (350 Voyager Way), TSC (310 Voyager Way NW), Bridge Street Town Centre (behind the Cinemark movie theater, and then walk to SAIC on Odyssey Drive). LogiCore at 345 Voyager Way is reserved only for people who need wheelchair access to the course.
  • Entering on Enterprise Way – Turn left on Discovery Drive to access parking at Intrepid (next to 615 Discovery Drive), Delta Research (access through Intrepid’s lot), S3 (615 Discovery Drive), Yulista (631 Discovery Drive), Kord Technologies (635 Discovery Drive), Lakeside Office Center (enter at 620 Discovery Drive), Quantum Research (enter at 991 Discovery Drive). Parking is also available at Dynetics (1002 Explorer Blvd.)

Portable restrooms will be available for the public at Intrepid, Dynetics and The Point at Lake 4 (located in front of Logicore). The Point at Lake 4 restroom also is wheelchair accessible.

An interactive map of the route, parking spots and public toilets is available in the map below. (If the map isn’t viewable, click here for the link)

More information about attending the competition can be found in this guide from the Huntsville Madison County Chamber.