The Para-cycling season will begin with the 2018 Track World Championships, which the governing body awarded to Rio de Janeiro earlier this week.

Action is due to take place at the Rio Olympic Velodrome from March 22 to 25.

It will be the first World Championships held in a venue which staged competitions at the Rio 2016 Olympics, since the Games concluded.

The Championships was awarded despite a fire at the Velodrome in July, which caused damage to the roof and a section of the track.

A balloon was found to have caused the fire, but damage to the track was not as bad as first thought, while the UCI have been informed repairs to the roof will shortly be completed.

Attention will turn to the road, following the completion of the Championships.

The Para-Cycling Road World Cup season has been scheduled to begin in Ostend, with action taking place from May 3 to 6 in the Belgian city.

Competition is then due to take place in Emmen in The Netherlands from July 6 to 8, with the town able to hone its preparations for the 2019 World Championships.

They will be preceded by the Italian town of Maniago, which is due to welcome cyclists for the 2018 Championships from August 2 to 5.

It will be the second time an Italian venue has hosted the event, following on from Bogogno back in 2009.

The World Cup season is then scheduled to conclude in Canada, as Baie-Comeau hosts the final competition from August 16 to 19.

The UCI also confirmed the award of the 2019 UCI Track World Championships here, alongside next year’s edition.

Apeldoorn in The Netherlands will host the Championships for the second time, having previously done so in 2015.