Paris 2024 is almost here and the world\u2019s best cyclists are ready for action. Here is your ultimate guide to all the Olympic and Paralympic cycling events <\/p>

The start of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games is only days away, with the cycling action taking place across the Summer Games, from 28 June to 11 August. <\/p><\/div><\/div>

There has been cycling at the Olympics since 1896, when there were road and track cycling events. Mountain biking was added in the 1990s and BMX racing began in 2008, with freestyle BMX appearing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.<\/p>

From road racing to BMX, here is our guide to all of the bike events at Paris 2024.<\/p>

Cycling at the 2024 Paris Olympics schedule<\/h2>
The cycling schedule for the Paris Olympics runs throughout the Games. – Our Media<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
Cycling at the Olympics <\/h2>
Road Race<\/h3>
$\"96th$
Expect sharp hills and cobbles on the Road Race routes. – Dario Belingheri \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Men\u2019s Road Race:<\/strong> Sat 3 Aug<\/li>
Women\u2019s Road Race:<\/strong> Sun 4 Aug<\/li><\/ul>
The wildly unpredictable men\u2019s Road Race takes place only 13 days after the end of the Tour de France<\/a>, meaning some riders will have hit peak form and others will be broken by fatigue. <\/p>
Only two things are certain. First, there will be a new Olympic champion, because Tokyo 2020 winner Richard Carapaz has not been selected by Ecuador, with Jhonatan Narv\u00e1ez taking their lone spot.<\/p>
Second, at 273km, this will be the longest ever Olympic Road Race.<\/p>
Similar to the 270.8km Tour of Flanders this year, it promises to be a punchy, Classics-style affair.<\/p>
After leaving the Trocad\u00e9ro, riders will venture through the undulating \u00cele-de-France region, taking on slopes such as the C\u00f4te de Ch\u00e2teaufort (900m at 5.7%), which has a memorial to Jacques Anquetil.<\/p>
They will then return to Paris for three laps of an 18.4km circuit with technical bends and the cobbled climb of the Butte Montmartre (1km at 6.5%), before a 230m sprint finish towards the Trocad\u00e9ro.<\/p>
\u201cI lived on the Butte Montmartre, so I know every cobble and there are some sketchy, steep roads,\u201d says cycling commentator Carlton Kirby, author of Magic Spanner<\/em>, about life behind the scenes at the world\u2019s biggest cycling races.<\/p>
\u201cIn front of the Sacr\u00e9-Coeur basilica, there is a tumbling staircase. Montmartre means \u2018Martyrs\u2019 Mount\u2019 and if you wanted redemption you had to crawl up the mount.<\/p>
\u201cSo this is an extreme and steep course. There will be elbows, luck, teammates not functioning, weather issues \u2013 rain on cobbles is a nightmare. It could be the greatest finale we\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>
With 2,800m of climbing and 13 ascents, the route will favour strong Classics riders including Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) and Mads Pedersen (Denmark).<\/p>
\u201cIt will be full of French Julian Alaphilippe fans,\u201d adds Kirby. \u201cIt suits him perfectly.<\/p>
\u201cBut how does Belgium pick four riders? And who will be the boss? You might get team riders attacking each other. Van der Poel is favourite.\u201d<\/p>
$\"Remco$ Remco Evenepoel will be a contender for both Road and TT gold. – Dean Mouhtaropoulos \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Stephen Park expects a gritty race. \u201cIt will be a war of attrition, so it will be six to seven hours on the bike and full-gas from the off,\u201d he insists.<\/p>
\u201cWith even the biggest teams having only four riders, it is hard to ride as a team for a race of this nature, so we will see attacks from the start gun.\u201d<\/p>
The women\u2019s road race is 158km and packs in 1,700m of climbing, with nine ascents and two laps of the finishing circuit.<\/p>
The route has the same start and chaotic finish as the men\u2019s race, either side of a dash through the Vall\u00e9e de Chevreuse.<\/p>
Medal favourites include Lorena Wiebes of the Netherlands and Belgium\u2019s world road race champion Lotte Kopecky.<\/p>
$\"Lorena$
Lorena Wiebes has enjoyed a fine 2024 season, with wins galore. – Matt McNulty \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u201cThe women\u2019s event will be a real distillation of talent,\u201d insists Kirby. \u201cWiebes looks monstrously good.<\/p>
“Some are compromised between the track and the road, especially the Italian riders Elisa Balsamo and Marta Cavalli.<\/p>
“But, for Britain, I hope the B\u00e4ckstedts (Zoe and Elynor) get their chance to shine.\u201d<\/p>
Road race routes<\/h4>
$\"Road$
The Road Race routes for Paris 2024. – Our Media<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Time Trial<\/h3>
$\"Chloe$
World Time Trial champion Chlo\u00e9 Dygert is a favourite for Olympic gold. – Dario Belingheri \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Men\/Women:<\/strong> Sat 27 July<\/li><\/ul>
With its long straights and cr\u00eape-flat terrain (only 150m of ascent), the Paris Time Trial course will celebrate the event\u2019s primary quality: electrifying speed.<\/p>
This summer, male and female riders will race the clock on the same 32.4km course for the first time.<\/p>
Riders will depart the Esplanade des Invalides, before dashing past iconic cycling locations, including the V\u00e9lodrome Jacques Anquetil, the Paris 1924 track cycling venue, and returning via the Place de la Bastille to Pont Alexandre III bridge.<\/p>
Expect this technical, rapid route to appeal to TT purists.<\/p>
Male contenders include 2023 World Time Trial champion Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) and Filippo Ganna (Italy). \u201cProbably the most exciting prospect for Britain is Josh Tarling, who won a (bronze) medal at the World Championships in Glasgow,\u201d says Park.<\/p>
\u201cHe is young (20), but continues to hone his craft well.\u201d <\/p>
Female prospects include Tokyo silver medallist Marlen Reusser of Switzerland and 2023 world Time Trial champion Chlo\u00e9 Dygert (USA). \u201cZoe B\u00e4ckstedt (a junior Time Trial world champion) would be great,\u201d adds Kirby.<\/p>
Time Trial route<\/h4>
$\"Time$
The Paris Time Trial route. – Our Media<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Track cycling<\/h3>
$\"Men's$
Filippo Ganna spearheads Italy\u2019s Pursuit squad. – Sarah Reed \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Mon 5 Aug \u2013 Sun 11 Aug<\/li><\/ul>
A fast and frenzied feature of the Olympics since Athens 1896, track cycling<\/a> is one of the most exciting spectator sports, serving up outrageous speeds, raw tension and brute force.<\/p>
It helps that Britain is pretty good at it, too, topping the track table again at Tokyo 2020. At the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome, Jack Carlin will be chasing medals in the Sprints, while Dan Bigham will be powering up the men\u2019s Team Pursuit squad.<\/p>
Emma Finucane won Sprint gold and Neah Evans and Elinor Barker took gold in the Madison at the 2023 world championships.<\/p>
$\"Daniel$
Aero guru Dan Bigham is chasing Olympic gold. – ANP \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
There will be 190 global track cyclists battling it out in Paris. \u201cThe Australians always bring their A game, and New Zealand and Canada too,\u201d warns Kirby.<\/p>
Watch out for Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands), who won double gold in the Individual and Team Sprint at Tokyo 2020, and Kevin Quintero (Colombia), who took gold in the Keirin at the 2023 Worlds.<\/p>
\u201cThe Team Pursuit is always special,\u201d adds Kirby. \u201cIn Tokyo, the Danes versus the Italians was decided on the final pedal stroke, after Filippo Ganna did a monster turn and nicked it from the Danes in their pomp.\u201d<\/p>
New Zealand\u2019s world Keirin champion Ellesse Andrews will be looking to upgrade her silver from Tokyo 2020, and American Jennifer Valente will hope to defend her Tokyo Omnium gold.<\/p>
Mountain biking<\/h3>
$\"UCI$
Switzerland\u2019s Jolanda Neff won Olympic gold in Tokyo and is hoping to defend it in Paris. – NurPhoto \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Women\u2019s Cross-Country:<\/strong> Sun 28 July<\/li>
Men\u2019s Cross-Country:<\/strong> Mon 29 July<\/li><\/ul>
A fusion of speed, stamina, strength and skill, Cross-Country MTB is the only mountain biking discipline with Olympic status.<\/p>
It sees punchy riders such as Tom Pidcock scrap over laps of a 4.3km course packed with forests, gravel, rocks, jumps and climbs.<\/p>
\u201cFor mountain bikers, the Olympics is the big one,\u201d insists three-time Cross-Country MTB Olympian and commentator Oli Beckingsale (bwcycling.co.uk).<\/p>
\u201cIf you medal, it is a life-changing experience. I did three Games, starting with Sydney 2000, and it\u2019s just mind-blowing to be part of that big circus.\u201d<\/p>
The Paris course is on the site of an old sandstone quarry at \u00c9lancourt Hill: at 230m, it\u2019s the highest point in the Paris region.<\/p>
French rider Loana Lecomte, who won the test event, says it is a \u201cbeautiful circuit\u201d that encourages \u201creal mountain biking”.<\/p>
Races usually last one to two hours. \u201cIt is a mass start, with six to seven laps of a circuit with hard climbing and technical elements,\u201d explains Beckingsale.<\/p>
\u201cWhereas a road race starts steady and builds, this is intense from the start, like a cyclocross race, with everyone jockeying for position.<\/p>
\u201cThere is a mix of wide and narrow track, so if you are too far back on the narrow track before a technical section, you risk losing time.<\/p>
\u201cThere is usually a lead group of five to 10 riders and then attacks from that. We will see fast, close racing. We will get seconds, not minutes, between riders, so really full-on.\u201d<\/p>
Tom Pidcock is hoping to repeat his Tokyo 2020 gold. \u201cPidcock has punch on climbs, but he is one of the most technically adept riders too,\u201d says Beckingsale.<\/p>
\u201cA course with a tougher ascent may favour Tom more,\u201d admits Park. \u201cAt the recent World Cup race (in Nov\u00e9 M\u011bsto, Czech Republic), he dominated.\u201d<\/p>
Competition will come from New Zealander Sam Gaze, Nino Schurter (Switzerland) and Victor Koretzky (France).<\/p>
Britain\u2019s Evie Richards will be hunting a medal in the women\u2019s race. \u201cEvie had a concussion recently, but I am confident she will come back strong,\u201d says Park.<\/p>
\u201cAs well as winning the World Championships in 2021, she has been a regular podium visitor at World Cup level.\u201d<\/p>
Home favourite Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot is chasing a first Olympic gold to add to her glittering career.<\/p>
Other rivals include fellow Frenchwoman Loana Lecomte, and 22-year-old rising star Puck Pieterse of the Netherlands.<\/p><\/div><\/div>
BMX racing and freestyle<\/h3>
$\"Madrid$
Charlotte Worthington will be hoping for another gold medal. – Borja B. Hojas \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
BMX Freestyle:<\/strong> Tue 30 Jul \u2013 Wed 31 Jul<\/li>
BMX Racing:<\/strong> Thu 1 Aug \u2013 Fri 2 Aug<\/li><\/ul>
BMX Racing<\/h4>
This is an explosive, exciting discipline that will leave gravity-grounded road cyclists gawping with delight.<\/p>
The sport is split into BMX racing and BMX freestyle events, with both competitions hosted at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines BMX Stadium.<\/p>
After launching out of a gate on top of an 8m-high start hill, riders race around a 400m track festooned with jumps, banked corners and obstacles.<\/p>
\u201cIt\u2019s similar to road racing, but you\u2019re flying in the air,\u201d explains BMX rider Jon Taylor, who commentates for the BBC.<\/p>
\u201cRiders travel at big speeds of 30mph and clear 30ft jumps. Imagine going down a hill on a road bike and someone pulls out a jump the size of a double-decker bus!\u201d<\/p>
BMX Freestyle <\/h4>
Freestyle is a hazardous world of stunts, akin to gymnastics on a bike.<\/p>
On a park course, riders perform as many tricks as possible in 60 seconds, scoring points for the complexity of their stunts, height and style.<\/p>
\u201cIt looks dangerous, but every rider is thinking: how can I ride this course better than everyone else?\u201d says Taylor.<\/p>
\u201cThey will often save the best tricks for the final. Sometimes, they fly backwards on jumps, so they are totally blind until they spot their landing.\u201d<\/p>
At Tokyo 2020, Charlotte Worthington stormed to acrobatic gold in the women\u2019s freestyle, while Bethany Shriever took gold and Kye Whyte took silver in the BMX racing.<\/p>
\u201cTo live that experience was phenomenal,\u201d recalls Taylor. \u201cCharlotte Worthington\u2019s360 backflip was on the cover of every newspaper.\u201d<\/p>
The confidence of BMX riders is staggering. \u201cThere\u2019s a continual challenge to learn new tricks, and that brings to the forefront higher degrees of danger and degrees of mental fortitude,\u201d explains Park.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Paralympic cycling <\/h3>
$\"Tokyo$
France\u2019s Dorian Foulon is part of the home nation\u2019s strong Individual Pursuit team. – Kiyoshi Ota \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Track:<\/strong> Thu 29 Aug \u2013 Sun 1 Sept<\/li>
Road:<\/strong> Wed 4 Sept \u2013 Sat 7 Sept<\/li><\/ul>
At the Paralympics, 220 cyclists compete across 17 track events and 34 road events.<\/p>
Road riders can compete in the Road Race, Time Trial and Relay, while track athletes can take part in Time Trial, Individual Pursuit and Team Sprint races.<\/p>
In road events, you\u2019ll see bicycles, handcycles, tricycles and tandems, while track events include bicycles and tandems with sighted \u2018pilots\u2019 for visually impaired riders.<\/p>
All events are classified according to athletes\u2019 disabilities, incorporating conditions such as impaired muscles, amputations, neurological conditions or sight impairments.<\/p>
British serial winner Dame Sarah Storey is the headline act: with 17 golds, across swimming and cycling, Storey, who was born without a functioning left hand, is Britain\u2019s most successful Paralympian.<\/p>
Other medal hopes include the visually impaired Scottish cyclist Neil Fachie, who won gold in the Tandem 1km Time Trial at London 2012 and Tokyo 2020, and Kadeena Cox, a former runner with MS who won gold in the Time Trial and Mixed Team Sprint at Tokyo 2020.<\/p>
$\"Day$
Great Britain is a dominant force in Paralympic cycling. – Dean Mouhtaropoulos \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u201cThe Team Sprint on the track will be exciting,\u201d says Park, with Team GB looking to retain their gold from Tokyo.<\/p>
\u201cThere has been a real battle between Great Britain and China.<\/p>
\u201cBut there\u2019s a good chance we\u2019ll see Jody Cundy, Kadeena and Jaco (van Gass) in that team again, pushing hard. Fin Graham will be strong in the Time Trial.<\/p>
\u201cAnd the Tandem events on the track are massively exciting, especially the Sprints.\u201d<\/p>
Park admits there is now a \u201chigher degree of competition worldwide\u201d.<\/p>
The Netherlands and France were Britain\u2019s biggest cycling rivals at Tokyo 2020. Home favourite Alexandre L\u00e9aut\u00e9, who suffered a stroke at birth and lost 95 per cent of his muscle power on his right side, is looking to better the four track and road medals he won in Tokyo.<\/p>
American athlete Oksana Masters, an amputee who was born in Ukraine and suffered leg damage from in-utero radiation poisoning after the Chernobyl disaster, has won 17 Paralympic medals across multiple sports.<\/p>
And Keiko Sugiura, who has paralysis on the right side of her body, won double gold in the Road Race and Time Trial at Tokyo 2020, aged 50.<\/p><\/div><\/div> <\/body><\/html>\n
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