Ostend is set to host the first Para-cycling World Cup since the pandemic hit ©UCI

The International Cycling Union Para-cycling World Cup circuit is set to make its return after a lengthy coronavirus-enforced stoppage in Ostend in Belgium this week.

The road event, which begins tomorrow and concludes on Sunday (May 9), is the first major Para-cycling competition to take place since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Para-cyclists have been waiting for a return to competitive action since Milton in Canada hosted the Track World Championships in January and February of last year.

The entire 2020 World Cup series fell victim to the coronavirus pandemic, while the 2021 Track World Championships in Rio de Janeiro have also been called off because of the global health crisis.

Several world champions are set to compete at the event in Ostend ©Getty Images
Several world champions are set to compete at the event in Ostend ©Getty Images

A host of world champions are set to compete in Ostend, including triple world MH5 road race gold medallist Tim de Vries of The Netherlands.

Hans-Peter Durst of Germany and Ireland's Katie-George Dunlevy, and the American trio of Oksana Masters, Ryan Boyle and Bryan Larsen, are among the other star names on the entry list.

"I’ve really missed the adrenaline rush and excitement of competition, and am looking forward to competing again, I am driven to show the world what myself and Eve [McCrystal, her pilot] are capable of," said Dunlevy.