The Course

The Port of Tyne Tunnel 2k International starts at the north end of the NEW Tyne Tunnel where there are facilities for the athletes to keep dry, prepare hand bindings, fine tune their machines in the pits and warm up on the 200 metre test track. The British Wheelchair Racing Association decide start grid places. After a 200m sprint from the line to the tunnel portal, the 1 in 16 downhill leg is fast and furious - athletes hit 45 to 50mph in under 30 seconds. With a slight right hand curve and a 30 metre drop, the first kilometre favours the heavier athlete to lead the field at the half way stage.

The second half of the race is a lung-busting, shoulder-burning steady rise of 1 in 20 gradient before the light at the end of the tunnel signals that the finish line is only metres away.

The Port of Tyne Tunnel 2k International is a unique wheelchair race. Competitor fascination is easy to understand - a combination of speed, technical ability, physical fitness and stamina, provides a test these world class athletes find irresistible.