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 International Speedway
Dates24 July – 8 August 2021
No. of events22
Competitors530 from 73 nations

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 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 2008. 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

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 International Speedway with the starts of the road races at the Musashinonomori Park.

Venue[9] Cluster Sport Date[10] Medal events Capacity
Fuji International SpeedwayOutside TokyoRoad cycling
(finish road races and time trial)		24 – 28 July4
Izu MTB CourseOutside TokyoMountain biking26 – 27 July2
Ariake Urban Sports ParkTokyo Bay ZoneBMX (freestyle and racing)29 July – 1 August45,000[8]
Musashinonomori ParkHeritage ZoneRoad cycling
(start road races)		24 – 25 July0
Izu VelodromeOutside TokyoTrack cycling2 – 8 August124,300[8]

Qualification

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

Participating nations

Courses

Time trials

Map of Individual time trial
Fuji Speedway

Road races

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

HHeats QFQuarter-Finals SFSemi-Finals FFinals
Road cycling
Track cycling
BMX
BMX, mountain biking and road cycling[12][13][14][15][16]
Event↓/Date →24 July25 July26 July27 July28 July29 July30 July31 Jul1 Aug
BMX Freestyle
Men's freestyleHF
Women's freestyleHF
BMX Racing
Men's racingQFSFF
Women's racingQFSFF
Mountain biking
Men's cross-countryF
Women's cross-countryF
Road cycling
Men's road raceF
Men's time trialF
Women's road raceF
Women's time trialF
Track cycling[12][17]
Event↓/Date →2 Aug3 Aug4 Aug5 Aug6 Aug7 Aug8 Aug
Men's keirinHQFSFF
Men's MadisonF
Men's omniumSRTRERPR
Men's team pursuitHSFF
Men's sprintHQFSFF
Men's team sprintHSFF
Women's keirinHQFSFF
Women's MadisonF
Women's omniumSRTRERPR
Women's team pursuitHSFF
Women's sprintHQFSFF
Women's team sprintHSFF

Competitors

Medalists

Medal table

  *   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

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

Track cycling

Men's

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Keirin
 Jason Kenny
 Great Britain		 Azizulhasni Awang
 Malaysia		 Harrie Lavreysen
 Netherlands
Madison
  Denmark (DEN)
Lasse Norman Hansen
Michael Mørkøv		  Great Britain (GBR)
Ethan Hayter
Matthew Walls		  France (FRA)
Donavan Grondin
Benjamin Thomas
Omnium
 Matthew Walls
 Great Britain		 Campbell Stewart
 New Zealand		 Elia Viviani
 Italy
Team pursuit
  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
 Harrie Lavreysen
 Netherlands		 Jeffrey Hoogland
 Netherlands		 Jack Carlin
 Great Britain
Team sprint
  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

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Keirin
 Shanne Braspennincx
 Netherlands		 Ellesse Andrews
 New Zealand		 Lauriane Genest
 Canada
Madison
  Great Britain (GBR)
Katie Archibald
Laura Kenny		  Denmark (DEN)
Amalie Dideriksen
Julie Leth		  ROC
Gulnaz Khatuntseva
Maria Novolodskaya
Omnium
 Jennifer Valente
 United States		 Yumi Kajihara
 Japan		 Kirsten Wild
 Netherlands
Team pursuit
  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
 Kelsey Mitchell
 Canada		 Olena Starikova
 Ukraine		 Lee Wai-sze
 Hong Kong
Team sprint
  China (CHN)
Bao Shanju
Zhong Tianshi		  Germany (GER)
Lea Friedrich
Emma Hinze		  ROC
Daria Shmeleva
Anastasia Voynova

Mountain biking

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men's
Tom Pidcock
 Great Britain		 Mathias Flückiger
 Switzerland		 David Valero
 Spain
Women's
Jolanda Neff
 Switzerland		 Sina Frei
 Switzerland		 Linda Indergand
 Switzerland

BMX

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men's race
 Niek Kimmann
 Netherlands		 Kye Whyte
 Great Britain		 Carlos Ramírez
 Colombia
Men's freestyle
 Logan Martin
 Australia		 Daniel Dhers
 Venezuela		 Declan Brooks
 Great Britain
Women's race
 Beth Shriever
 Great Britain		 Mariana Pajón
 Colombia		 Merel Smulders
 Netherlands
Women's freestyle
 Charlotte Worthington
 Great Britain		 Hannah Roberts
 United States		 Nikita Ducarroz
 Switzerland

See also

References

  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. 1 2 3 "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. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  12. 1 2 "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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