EXPERIÊNCIA TANDEM: UM ESTUDO FENOMENOLÓGICO SOBRE PARACICLISMO

This article aims to describe the tandem experience and its relational developments, based on reports from pilots and visually impaired athletes who practice paracycling. Cycling is a century-old sport, still with gaps around Sports Psychology, mainly in the Paralympic segment. The relational aspect stands out as a factor of great importance in the tandem modality, which is practiced with a double bicycle, requiring total harmony and synchronization between the movements of the pilot and the athlete for good performance. Eight visually impaired paracyclists, 7 pilots, and 2 coaches of the modality collaborated with the research. Narratives of experiences related to interpersonal relationships between paracyclists and their pilots in training, coexistence, and competition situations were produced. The experience reports were produced in a participatory manner, using interviews operationalized by suspensive listening, analysed through intentional crossing to access the experiential structure of the phenomenon. The results reveal fundamental existential layers of the tandem experience, which begins with the perception of bodies in motion; the relational dimension of the experience characterized by shared movement, and finally, the challenges faced in the decision-making process to remain in the modality. We conclude that working on interpersonal relationships during the preparation of athletes and pilots and publicizing the modality more can help in its development and improve the quality of the tandem experience. Received: 2025/04/02 Reformulated: 2025/05/12 Accepted: 2025/05/12