Track cycling at the Olympics consists of three sprint events (individual sprint, team sprint, keirin) and three endurance events (Madison, omnium, team pursuit). A total of 95 men and 95 women will compete at the 2024 Olympics in Paris across these six events.
Read on for details about how each competition will work at the Paris Games.
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Individual sprint
How many riders will compete in the individual sprint event at the 2024 Olympics?
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The fields for men's and women's sprint will each have a maximum of 30 riders.
How does the individual sprint work at the Olympics?
The individual sprint is a timed event. Riders will take the track either alone (in the case of the qualification round) or side-by-side (in the case of head-to-head races). Each race will encompass three laps and take about two minutes.
What is the competition format for the individual sprint at the Olympics?
The competition starts with all 30 riders participating in the qualification round. Riders complete three laps, but only the final 200 meters are timed. The 24 riders with the fastest times advance to the elimination rounds and are seeded according to their times.
In the first elimination round, the 24 remaining riders race in 12 head-to-head matchups (based on seeding). The winning rider in each heat advances directly to the second round, while the losers enter a repechage round. In the repechage, there are four heats of three riders and the winner of each heat moves on to the second round.
In the second elimination round, the 16 remaining riders race in eight head-to-head matchups. The winning rider in each heat advances directly to the third round, while the losers enter a repechage round. In the repechage, there are four heats of two riders and the winner of each heat moves on to the third round.
In the third elimination round, the 12 remaining riders race in six head-to-head matchups. The winning rider in each heat advances directly to the quarterfinals, while the losers enter a repechage round. In the repechage, there are two heats of three riders and the winner of each heat moves on to the quarterfinals.
From the quarterfinals onward, there are no more repechage rounds and each matchup is decided by a best-of-three series.
The winners of the four quarterfinal heats advance to the semifinals. The winners of the two semifinal heats advance to the gold medal final, while the two losers go to the bronze medal final.
Team sprint
How many teams will compete in the team sprint event at the 2024 Olympics?
The men's and women's team sprint will each have eight teams participating and each team will consist of three riders. This will be the first time that the women's event has featured three-rider teams.
How does the team sprint work at the Olympics?
Each team works together to post the fastest time over three laps (750 meters). All three riders start each race, but only the last rider finishes, and the order of cyclists does not change within the race. The lead rider sets the pace for the first 250 meters and then pulls off. After 500 meters, the second rider leaves the track while the anchor leg goes all out for the final lap.
During head-to-head races, each team begins the race on opposite sides of the track.
What is the competition format for the team sprint at the Olympics?
In the qualification round, each team completes a time trial. Teams are then seeded according to their times.
In Round 1, the competition shifts to a head-to-head format with matchups determined by seeding. There are four matchups in Round 1, and therefore four winners. The two fastest winners in Round 1 advance to the gold medal final and the two slowest winners go to the bronze medal final.
Keirin
How many riders will compete in the keirin event at the 2024 Olympics?
The fields for men's and women's keirin will each have a maximum of 30 riders.
How does the keirin work at the Olympics?
Each race lasts six laps, but the first three laps are paced by a motorized bike which gradually increases its speed from 30 to 50 kilometers per hour (18.6 to 31.1 miles per hour). Once the motorized bike pulls off, the riders engage in a three-lap sprint to the finish.
Each race takes about two to two-and-a-half minutes to complete.
If one or more riders pass the leading edge of the front wheel of the motorized bike before the pursuit line when it leaves the track, the race is stopped and rerun without those riders, who are disqualified.
During the first three rounds, if ties can't be broken by a photo finish, then all tied riders will move on. If the situation happens in the final, the riders will share the same rank.
What is the competition format for the keirin at the Olympics?
In the first round, the 30 participating athletes are grouped into five heats of six riders. The top-two finishers in each heat automatically advance to the quarterfinals, while all other riders enter a repechage round. The repechage features four heats of five riders and the top-two finishers in each heat move on to the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals, the 18 remaining riders are grouped into three heats of six riders. The top-four finishers in each heat advance to the semifinals.
In the semifinals, the 12 remaining riders are grouped into two heats of six riders. The top-three riders in each heat advance to the final.
The final features six riders competing in one single race. The winner of that race gets the gold medal, second place gets silver and third place gets bronze.
Team pursuit
How many teams will compete in the team pursuit event at the 2024 Olympics?
The men's and women's team pursuit will each have 10 teams participating and each team will consist of four riders.
How does the team pursuit work at the Olympics?
Each team works together to post the fastest time over 16 laps. Each team starts with four riders, and riders are allowed to change positions. The finishing time is determined by when the third rider’s front wheel crosses the finish line. If a team loses one of its riders at any point during the race, that team is still eligible to finish as long as they have three riders.
During head-to-head heats, each team starts on opposite sides of the track. The team that crosses the finish line first (as determined by the third rider's front wheel) is the winner of the heat. Although it's less common, a team can also win a heat by catching up to the opposing team.
Each race takes around four minutes to complete.
What is the competition format for the team pursuit at the Olympics?
In the qualification round, each team rides the track alone and completes a time trial. The eight fastest teams move on to Round 1, but only the four fastest teams are eligible to compete for a gold medal. The other four teams can only hope for a bronze medal at best.
In Round 1, the eight remaining teams are seeded. The No. 1 seed races the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed races the No. 3 seed. The two winners from those heats advance to the gold medal final.
Meanwhile, the No. 5 seed races the No. 8 seed and the No. 6 seed races the No. 7 seed. The teams with the two fastest times in Round 1 that did not make the gold medal final, regardless of their placement in the qualifying round, compete in the bronze medal final.
Madison
How many teams will compete in the Madison event at the 2024 Olympics?
The men's and women's Madison will each have up to 15 teams participating and each team will consist of two riders.
How does the Madison work at the Olympics?
The Madison is a two-person relay event which features a mass start. Results are determined by the number of points accumulated by each team during the event.
One rider on each team is actively competing while the other continues to ride inactive at the top of the track. Riders have unlimited exchanges and usually use what is called a "handsling" in which the racing cyclist pulls or tags the inactive cyclist into the race.
The men’s race is 200 laps (50 kilometers or about 31 miles) and takes about 50 minutes to complete. The women’s race is 120 laps (30 kilometers or about 18.5 miles) and takes about 35 minutes.
How do riders score points in the Madison?
Sprints are contested every ten laps and scored as follows:
- First place = 5 points
- Second place = 3 points
- Third place = 2 points
- Fourth place = 1 point
On the last sprint, double points are awarded.
Any team that laps the field earns 20 points, but a team that gets lapped has 20 points deducted from its score. The team with the most accumulated points at the end of the event wins the gold medal.
In case of a tie, the finishing places for the final sprint will decide the positions. If the tie still can't be resolved, the rank will be shared.
Omnium
How many riders will compete in the omnium event at the 2024 Olympics?
The fields for men's and women's omnium will each have a maximum of 22 riders.
How does the omnium work at the Olympics?
There are four races that make up the omnium and riders earn points during each of these races. At the end of the four races, the rider with the most cumulative points wins the gold medal.
The entire event is contested within a single day, but there are breaks between each race.
What are the four races that make up the omnium?
There are four races that make up the omnium event:
- Scratch race: Riders start together and race to the finish
- Tempo race: The leading rider accumulates points for winning laps
- Elimination race: The last rider is eliminated every two laps
- Points race: Riders earn points during mid-race sprints. This format, which is similar to the rules of the Madison, is explained in more detail below.
The first three races (scratch, tempo, elimination) are 40 laps for men and 30 laps for women. Riders earn 40 points for first place, 38 points for second place, 36 points for third, and so on.
The points race is 100 laps for men and 80 laps for women. Sprints are contested every ten laps and scored as follows:
- First place = 5 points
- Second place = 3 points
- Third place = 2 points
- Fourth place = 1 point
On the last sprint, double points are awarded.
Any rider that laps the field earns 20 points, but a rider that gets lapped has 20 points deducted from their score.
In case of a tie, the finishing places for the final sprint in the points race will decide the positions. If the tie still can't be resolved, the rank will be shared.
Track cycling schedule for 2024 Olympics
Track cycling events will be held from Aug. 5-11 at the National Velodrome in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France.
Other Olympic cycling disciplines
Learn the rules and competition formats for other cycling disciplines at the Paris Olympics.
