Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics

The cycling competitions of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo featured 22 events in five disciplines.[1][2][3][4][5] The 2020 Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]

Cycling
at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Pictograms from top, left to right: BMX Freestyle, BMX Racing, Road, Mountain and Track cycling.
VenueOlympic BMX Course
Izu Mountain Bike Course
Izu Velodrome
Musashinonomori Park
Fuji Speedway
Dates24 July – 8 August 2021
No. of events22
Competitors530 from 73 nations
← 2016
2024 →

Cycling competitions had been contested in every Summer Olympics programme since the first modern Olympiad in 1896 alongside athletics, artistic gymnastics, fencing and swimming.

Since the 1896 contests which featured five track events and an 87 km road race from Athens to Marathon and back, Olympic cycling had gradually evolved to include women's competitions, mountain bike and BMX to arrive at the current 22 events.

The cycling program for this edition was expanded with 4 more events than those held in 2016. BMX freestyle was added in the program for the first time and there will also be a return of Madison events on the track that had been removed from the Olympic program in 2012. The award of the extra events was widely seen as a reward for the agreement of the UCI that the track cycling and mountain bike events be taken out of Tokyo and held in Izu, Shizuoka, allowing for significant costs savings to the organising committee. As Izu was not covered by the state of emergency imposed by the Japanese government, cycling was one of the very few sports at these games that allowed a limited number of local spectators to attend.

Great Britain's stranglehold on the velodrome events slackened for the first time since 2008, with their three golds matched by the Netherlands and six other golds shared among six nations. They also failed to win a road medal for the first time since 2004. Nevertheless, with three golds, three silvers and a bronze inside the velodrome, and a hugely successful mountain bike and BMX campaign outside it (three golds, a silver and a bronze from the six events) for the fourth Olympics in a row, Great Britain topped the medal table in cycling with twelve medals, six gold, closely followed by the Netherlands with twelve medals but five golds. Between them the two top nations won half of all the 22 gold medals on offer in cycling; no other nation won more than one, and aside from 12 medals won by each of the 'Big 2', only the Swiss managed more than three medals in total, thanks to their dominance of the mountain bike podium (winning 4 medals from 6).

During the Games, Jason Kenny and Laura Kenny respectively took the records for the most successful male and female Olympic cyclists in history, Jason with a seventh gold in men's keirin, and Laura with a fifth in women's madison. They also became their nation's most successful male and female Olympians in history.

Venues

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Track cycling was planned for a temporary venue in Ariake. To save $100 million in construction costs, it was announced after months of negotiations that the venue for track cycling would be the existing velodrome in Izu.[7]

The International Cycling Union (UCI) resisted moving track cycling 120 km outside Tokyo to Izu. The UCI feared it would detract from the Olympic experience for both athletes and fans. Eventually, the UCI agreed to change. The Japanese Cycling Federation and local authorities committed to establishing at Izu a multi-sport cycling center, to create local cycling programs, and to develop the cycling sport.[8]

For road cycling the start and finish were originally planned at the Imperial Palace Garden. Later it was announced that the finishes would be at the Fuji Speedway with the starts of the road races at the Musashinonomori Park.

Venue[9] Cluster Sport Date[10] Medal events Capacity
Fuji Speedway Outside Tokyo Road cycling
(finish road races and time trial)
24 – 28 July 4
Izu MTB Course Outside Tokyo Mountain biking 26 – 27 July 2
Ariake Urban Sports Park Tokyo Bay Zone BMX (freestyle and racing) 29 July – 1 August 4 5,000[8]
Musashinonomori Park Heritage Zone Road cycling
(start road races)
24 – 25 July 0
Izu Velodrome Outside Tokyo Track cycling 2 – 8 August 12 4,300[8]

Qualification

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Japan, as the host country, received one guaranteed quota place per gender in the BMX Racing, BMX Freestyle, and mountain bike events and two quota places per gender in the road race events (there are no guaranteed places in the road time trial or any track events).

Most of the qualification was done through UCI ranking lists, with some spots allocated through world championship events or continental qualification events.

Participation

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Participating nations

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Courses

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Time trials

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Map of Individual time trial
 
Fuji Speedway

Road races

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The courses for the men's and women's road races were revealed in August 2018. The races started in Musashinonomori Park in Chofu, western Tokyo with the finish at the Fuji Speedway circuit in the Shizuoka prefecture.

The men's road race was 234 kilometres long with a total elevation of 4865 m. The women's race was 137 km long with a total elevation of 2692 metres.[11]

The first part of the men's and women's races is identical. The course first passes through the mostly flat outskirts of Tokyo's metropolitan area. After 80 km there is a long climb on Doushi Road with a total elevation of 1000 m. After reaching Lake Yamanakako in Yamanashi and crossing the Kagosaka Pass there is a fast 15 km descent. From here the courses are different for men and women.

After the descent, the men's race heads towards the lower slopes of Mount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain, with a 14.3 km long climb with a 6.0% average incline. The riders then head to the Fuji Speedway section, where they cross the finish line twice before entering the last part of the race, which includes the Mikuni Pass peak at about 30 km to go. This climb is 6.8 km at a height of 1159 metres with an average incline of 10.2% including sections reaching 20%. After the climb, the race returns to Lake Yamanakako and the Kagosaka Pass before finishing on the Fuji Speedway circuit.

The women's race does not include the two tough climbs at Mount Fuji and Mikuni Pass. Instead, the race remains on the Fuji Speedway circuit, where the women ride 1.5 laps before the final crossing of the finish line.

Competition schedule

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H Heats QF Quarter-Finals SF Semi-Finals F Finals
 
Road cycling
 
Track cycling
 
BMX
BMX, mountain biking and road cycling[12][13][14][15][16]
Event↓/Date → 24 July 25 July 26 July 27 July 28 July 29 July 30 July 31 Jul 1 Aug
BMX Freestyle
Men's freestyle H F
Women's freestyle H F
BMX Racing
Men's racing QF SF F
Women's racing QF SF F
Mountain biking
Men's cross-country F
Women's cross-country F
Road cycling
Men's road race F
Men's time trial F
Women's road race F
Women's time trial F
Track cycling[12][17]
Event↓/Date → 2 Aug 3 Aug 4 Aug 5 Aug 6 Aug 7 Aug 8 Aug
Men's keirin H QF SF F
Men's Madison F
Men's omnium SR TR ER PR
Men's team pursuit H SF F
Men's sprint H QF SF F
Men's team sprint H SF F
Women's keirin H QF SF F
Women's Madison F
Women's omnium SR TR ER PR
Women's team pursuit H SF F
Women's sprint H QF SF F
Women's team sprint H SF F

Competitors

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Medalists

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Medal table

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  *   Host nation (Japan)

RankNOCGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  Great Britain64212
2  Netherlands53412
3  Switzerland1326
4  Denmark1203
5  United States1113
6  Germany1102
7  Australia1023
  Italy1023
9  Canada1012
  Slovenia1012
11  Austria1001
  China1001
  Ecuador1001
14  New Zealand0202
15  Colombia0112
16  Belgium0101
  Japan*0101
  Malaysia0101
  Ukraine0101
  Venezuela0101
21  France0022
  ROC0022
23  Hong Kong0011
  Spain0011
Totals (24 entries)22222266

Road cycling

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men's road race
details
Richard Carapaz
  Ecuador
Wout van Aert
  Belgium
Tadej Pogačar
  Slovenia
Men's time trial
details
Primož Roglič
  Slovenia
Tom Dumoulin
  Netherlands
Rohan Dennis
  Australia
Women's road race
details
Anna Kiesenhofer
  Austria
Annemiek van Vleuten
  Netherlands
Elisa Longo Borghini
  Italy
Women's time trial
details
Annemiek van Vleuten
  Netherlands
Marlen Reusser
  Switzerland
Anna van der Breggen
  Netherlands

Track cycling

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Men's

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
Keirin
details
Jason Kenny
  Great Britain
Azizulhasni Awang
  Malaysia
Harrie Lavreysen
  Netherlands
Madison
details
  Denmark (DEN)
Lasse Norman Hansen
Michael Mørkøv
  Great Britain (GBR)
Ethan Hayter
Matthew Walls
  France (FRA)
Donavan Grondin
Benjamin Thomas
Omnium
details
Matthew Walls
  Great Britain
Campbell Stewart
  New Zealand
Elia Viviani
  Italy
Team pursuit
details
  Italy (ITA)
Simone Consonni
Filippo Ganna
Francesco Lamon
Jonathan Milan
  Denmark (DEN)
Niklas Larsen
Lasse Norman Hansen
Rasmus Pedersen
Frederik Rodenberg
  Australia (AUS)
Leigh Howard
Kelland O'Brien
Luke Plapp
Sam Welsford
Alexander Porter
Sprint
details
Harrie Lavreysen
  Netherlands
Jeffrey Hoogland
  Netherlands
Jack Carlin
  Great Britain
Team sprint
details
  Netherlands (NED)
Jeffrey Hoogland
Harrie Lavreysen
Roy van den Berg
Matthijs Büchli
  Great Britain (GBR)
Jack Carlin
Jason Kenny
Ryan Owens
  France (FRA)
Florian Grengbo
Rayan Helal
Sébastien Vigier

Women's

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
Keirin
details
Shanne Braspennincx
  Netherlands
Ellesse Andrews
  New Zealand
Lauriane Genest
  Canada
Madison
details
  Great Britain (GBR)
Katie Archibald
Laura Kenny
  Denmark (DEN)
Amalie Dideriksen
Julie Leth
  ROC
Gulnaz Khatuntseva
Maria Novolodskaya
Omnium
details
Jennifer Valente
  United States
Yumi Kajihara
  Japan
Kirsten Wild
  Netherlands
Team pursuit
details
  Germany (GER)
Franziska Brauße
Lisa Brennauer
Lisa Klein
Mieke Kröger
  Great Britain (GBR)
Katie Archibald
Laura Kenny
Neah Evans
Josie Knight
Elinor Barker
  United States (USA)
Chloé Dygert
Megan Jastrab
Jennifer Valente
Emma White
Lily Williams
Sprint
details
Kelsey Mitchell
  Canada
Olena Starikova
  Ukraine
Lee Wai Sze
  Hong Kong
Team sprint
details
  China (CHN)
Bao Shanju
Zhong Tianshi
  Germany (GER)
Lea Friedrich
Emma Hinze
  ROC
Daria Shmeleva
Anastasia Voynova

Mountain biking

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men's
details
Tom Pidcock
  Great Britain
Mathias Flückiger
  Switzerland
David Valero
  Spain
Women's
details
Jolanda Neff
  Switzerland
Sina Frei
  Switzerland
Linda Indergand
  Switzerland
Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men's race
details
Niek Kimmann
  Netherlands
Kye Whyte
  Great Britain
Carlos Ramírez
  Colombia
Men's freestyle
details
Logan Martin
  Australia
Daniel Dhers
  Venezuela
Declan Brooks
  Great Britain
Women's race
details
Beth Shriever
  Great Britain
Mariana Pajón
  Colombia
Merel Smulders
  Netherlands
Women's freestyle
details
Charlotte Worthington
  Great Britain
Hannah Roberts
  United States
Nikita Ducarroz
  Switzerland

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Cycling BMX Freestyle". Tokyo2020.org. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Cycling BMX Racing". Tokyo2020.org. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Cycling Mountain Bike". Tokyo2020.org. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Cycling Road". Tokyo2020.org. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Cycling Track". Tokyo2020.org. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Joint Statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee". IOC. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  7. ^ Holthus, Barbara; Gagné, Isaac; Manzenreiter, Wolfram; Waldenberger, Franz (23 April 2020). Japan Through the Lens of the Tokyo Olympics Open Access. Routledge. p. 61. doi:10.4324/9781003033905. ISBN 978-1-003-03390-5. S2CID 214002752.
  8. ^ a b c "IOC approves switch of cycling venues for Tokyo Olympics". USA Today. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Olympic Venues|The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games". The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Olympic Competition Schedule|The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games". The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Tokyo 2020 unveil cycling road races courses for Olympic Games". Insidethegames.biz. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Schedule - Cycling Tokyo 2020 Olympics". Olympian Database. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Cycling (BMX Freestyle) Competition Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Cycling (BMX Racing) Competition Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  15. ^ "Cycling (Mountain Bike) Competition Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  16. ^ "Cycling (Road) Competition Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  17. ^ "Cycling (Track) Competition Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
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