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Cycling is also part of a select list of sports that have been featured in every edition of the Olympics, starting with Athens 1896. It is quite diverse a sport with as many as five disciplines, the oldest of which is road cycling read more
 "Cycling - history, rules, defending champions")
Belgium's Wout van Aert is among the favourites for the men's road race event. Reuters
Ever since it was invented in the mid-19th century, cycles have become popular all over the world as a mode of transport, one that is considered good for the planet as well as for one’s physical fitness. The development of the chain-and-gearing system would further boost its popularity and allow it to stay relevant in an age of cars, motorbikes, etc.
Paris Olympics Complete Coverage: Click here for news, schedule, explainers and more
Cycling is also part of a select list of sports that have been featured in every edition of the Olympics, starting with Athens 1896. It is quite diverse a sport with as many as five disciplines, the oldest of which is road cycling — the form of the sport that has been around since the mid-19th century.
The first road races were held in 1868 in Paris, with track cycling competitions making its debut in London a decade later. Cycling associations began to pop up across various parts of the world with the Union Cycliste Internationale being established as the sport’s global body in 1900.
What is cycling’s history at Olympics?
Cycling has been part of the modern Olympics since the inaugural edition took place in Athens in 1896, in which a road race and five track events were held. Women’s Road Race was introduced in Los Angeles 1984 with track events getting included in Seoul four years later.
Mountain bike racing entered the programme in Atlanta 1996, with BMX Racing and Freestyle BMX making their debuts in Beijing 2008 and Tokyo 2020 respectively. The 2012 Games in London witnessed the same number of events for men as well as women across all cycling disciplines.
Britain leads the medal table in track cycling with 78 medals — 33 gold, 25 silver and 20 bronze. Netherlands, on the other hand, is the most successful nation in road cycling with 18 gold (10 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze).
Here are the leading nations in the remaining cycling categories:
Mountain Biking: France — 6 medals (4 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze)
BMX Racing: Colombia — 6 medals (2 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze)
BMX Freestyle: Britain — 2 medals (1 gold, 1 bronze)
As for the combined medal table, France finds itself at the top with 93 medals (41 gold, 26 silver, 26 bronze). Britain’s won more medals, being the only country to complete a century of those, but are in the second spot by virtue of their gold medal count which stands at 38.
What are the rules?
Road cycling takes place outdoors and is divided into two events at the Olympics, viz. road race and individual time trial.
The road race involves all the riders starting off at the same time, over a distance of 200km and 120km for male and female athletes respectively. Given the massive distance that needs to be covered, riders train in order to perfect the art of conserving their energy levels for a final sprint in the last hundred metres.
Time trial, on the other hand, is an individual race in which competitors set off at staggered times instead of doing so in a peloton, and cover a much shorter distance of 50km.
Track events, meanwhile, take place in a velodrome that is a bowl-shaped arena covering a distance of 250m in one round. Events take place in different race formats, both at an individual and at a team level. Track bicycles have a fixed gear unlike the ones that are used for road events and do not have brakes.
Who are the reigning champions?
Women’s Road Race: Anna Kiesenhofer, Austria.
Men’s Road race: Richard Carapaz, Ecuador.
Women’s Time Trial: Annemiek van Vleuten, Netherlands.
Men’s Time Trial: Primoz Roglic, Slovenia.
Women’s Mountain Bike: Jolanda Neff, Switzerland.
Men’s Mountain Bike: Tom Pidcock, Britain.
Women’s BMX Racing: Beth Shriever, Britain.
Men’s BMX Racing: Niek Kimmann, Netherlands.
Women’s BMX Freestyle: Charlotte Worthington, Britain.
Men’s BMX Freestyle: Logan Martin, Australia.
Women’s Track: Jennifer Valente, United States, among others.
Men’s Track: Matthew Walls, Britain, among others.
How many athletes have qualified in cycling?
A total of 514 athletes will be taking part in 22 categories across various forms of cycling in the Paris Olympics.
Who are the athletes to watch in cycling?
Chloe Dygert, United States: The reigning time trial world champion also will compete in the road race and the team pursuit.
Hannah Roberts, United States: The five-time and reigning BMX freestyle world champion finished second at the Tokyo Games.
Wout van Aert, Belgium, and Mathieu van der Poel, Netherlands: They are the favorites for the road race.
Tom Pidcock, Britain: The defending mountain bike gold medalist will be heavily favored to repeat.
Jennifer Valente, United States: She upset the favored British team in the multi-discipline omnium on the track in Tokyo.
When and where will cycling take place at Paris Olympics?
Cycling is one of the few sports that takes place every day of the Summer Games. The schedule has changed this year, with the men’s and women’s time trials taking the place of the men’s road race on 27 July, the day after the opening ceremony.
Mountain bike moves up to Days 2 and 3 of the program before BMX freestyle and racing take center stage. The men’s and women’s road races are 3 and 4 August before the final week is dominated by track cycling at Vélodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines outside Paris.
With inputs from AP
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English (US) ·