kids encyclopedia robot

Cycling at the Summer Olympics facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Cycling at the Summer Olympics
Cycling pictogram.svg
Governing body UCI
Events 22 (men: 11; women: 11)
Games
  • 1896
  • 1900
  • 1904
  • 1908
  • 1912
  • 1920
  • 1924
  • 1928
  • 1932
  • 1936
  • 1948
  • 1952
  • 1956
  • 1960
  • 1964
  • 1968
  • 1972
  • 1976
  • 1980
  • 1984
  • 1988
  • 1992
  • 1996
  • 2000
  • 2004
  • 2008
  • 2012
  • 2016
  • 2020
  • Medalists

Cycling has been a part of almost every Summer Olympic Games since they began in 1896. Back then, there was a road race and five track events. Over time, new and exciting types of cycling were added! Mountain bike racing joined the Olympics in 1996, followed by BMX racing in 2008. More recently, freestyle BMX was added in 2021, bringing a new kind of trick-based competition to the Games.

Women's cycling events started appearing in the Olympics later. Women's road races were first held in 1984, and women's track events followed in 1988. Since 2012, both men and women have competed in the same number of cycling events across all types, showing how much the sport has grown for everyone.

A Quick Look at Cycling at the Olympics

Cycling has been a core sport at the Olympics for a long time. It started with just a few events and has grown to include many different styles of riding.

Games Year Events Best Nation
1 1896 6  France
2 1900 3  France
3 1904 7  United States
4 1908 6  Great Britain
5 1912 2  Sweden
7 1920 6  Great Britain
8 1924 6  France
9 1928 6  Denmark
10 1932 6  Italy
11 1936 6  France
14 1948 6  France
15 1952 6  Italy
16 1956 6  Italy
17 1960 6  Italy
18 1964 7  Italy
19 1968 7  France
20 1972 7  Soviet Union
21 1976 6  West Germany
22 1980 6  Soviet Union
23 1984 8  United States
24 1988 9  Soviet Union
25 1992 10  Germany
26 1996 14  France
27 2000 18  France
28 2004 18  Australia
29 2008 18  Great Britain
30 2012 18  Great Britain
31 2016 18  Great Britain
32 2020 22  Great Britain
33 2024 22

Track Cycling Events

Track cycling takes place on a special oval track called a velodrome. Riders use bikes with no brakes and just one gear, focusing on speed and strategy.

Popular Men's Track Events

  • Keirin: Cyclists follow a motorized pace-setter, then sprint to the finish. It's all about timing!
  • Madison: A team race where two riders take turns, slinging each other forward to gain speed.
  • Omnium: A multi-event competition testing a rider's skills in different track races.
  • Team Pursuit: Two teams race against each other, trying to catch their opponents or set the fastest time.
  • Individual Sprint: Riders go head-to-head in short, fast races, often with tactical slow-downs.
  • Team Sprint: Teams of riders sprint for a short distance, with riders peeling off after each lap.

Popular Women's Track Events

Women's track cycling includes many of the same exciting events as the men's.

  • Keirin
  • Madison
  • Omnium
  • Team Pursuit
  • Individual Sprint
  • Team Sprint

Road Cycling Events

Road cycling events happen on regular roads, often covering long distances and challenging terrain.

Men's Road Events

  • Individual Road Race: Cyclists race a long distance on public roads, often with hills and tricky turns. The first one to cross the finish line wins!
  • Individual Time Trial: Riders race against the clock, one by one, to see who can complete the course fastest. It's just them and their bike!

Women's Road Events

Women's road cycling features the same two main events as the men's, testing endurance and speed on the open road.

  • Road Race
  • Time Trial

Mountain Biking Events

Mountain biking is an off-road cycling sport where riders tackle rough terrain, steep climbs, and fast descents.

Mountain Biking Events for Men and Women

  • Men's cross country: Riders race over a challenging off-road course with natural obstacles.
  • Women's cross country: Similar to the men's event, testing skill and endurance on tough trails.

BMX Racing Events

BMX racing is a super-fast and exciting sport where riders race on a dirt track with jumps and bumps.

BMX Racing Events for Men and Women

  • Men's racing: Riders sprint around a short, obstacle-filled track, aiming to be first across the finish line.
  • Women's racing: The same thrilling race format for female riders.

BMX Freestyle Events

BMX freestyle is all about tricks, jumps, and creative moves on a special park course. It's a newer addition to the Olympics.

BMX Freestyle Events for Men and Women

  • Men's park: Riders perform amazing tricks and stunts in a skatepark-like setting, judged on creativity and difficulty.
  • Women's park: Female riders show off their best tricks in the park competition.

Overall Olympic Cycling Medals

Great Britain has been very successful in Olympic cycling, especially in track events, winning many gold medals since 2008. This success is partly thanks to strong support for British Cycling.

The most successful Olympic cyclists are a husband-and-wife team from Great Britain: Jason Kenny and Laura Kenny. Jason has won seven gold medals and two silver medals, making him the most decorated cyclist with nine medals in total. He's also the only cyclist to win gold in the same event at three different Olympics! Laura has won five gold medals and one silver, totaling six medals. She shares the title of most decorated female cyclist with Leontien van Moorsel from the Netherlands and Anna Meares from Australia. Laura Kenny also made history by winning the first-ever gold medals in three different events: women's team pursuit, women's omnium (both in 2012), and women's madison (in 2020).

Chris Hoy from Great Britain was the first Olympic cyclist to win six gold medals. He won gold in four different track cycling events, showing his amazing versatility.

Top Cyclists by Olympic Medals (6 or more)

As of the 2020 Summer Olympics

# Cyclist Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Kenny, JasonJason Kenny  Great Britain (GBR) 7 2 0 9
2 Wiggins, BradleyBradley Wiggins  Great Britain (GBR) 5 1 2 8
3 Hoy, ChrisChris Hoy  Great Britain (GBR) 6 1 0 7
4 Laura Kenny  Great Britain (GBR) 5 1 0 6
5 van Moorsel, LeontienLeontien van Moorsel  Netherlands (NED) 4 1 1 6
6 Downing, BurtonBurton Downing  United States (USA) 2 3 1 6
7 Meares, AnnaAnna Meares  Australia (AUS) 2 1 3 6

Last updated after the 2020 Summer Olympics

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  France 41 26 26 93
2  Great Britain 38 35 27 100
3  Italy 35 16 12 63
4  Netherlands 23 22 16 61
5  United States 17 22 21 60
6  Australia 15 19 20 54
7  Germany 15 16 16 47
8  Soviet Union 11 4 9 24
9  Denmark 8 11 10 29
10  Belgium 7 9 11 27
11  Switzerland 6 11 8 25
12  East Germany 6 6 4 16
13  Russia 5 5 9 19
14  Spain 5 5 6 16
15  Sweden 4 5 8 17
16  West Germany 4 5 5 14
17  Canada 2 5 9 16
18  China 2 3 3 8
19  Colombia 2 2 4 8
20  Czechoslovakia 2 2 2 6
21  Austria 2 0 2 4
 Norway 2 0 2 4
23  Latvia 2 0 1 3
24  New Zealand 1 5 4 10
25  South Africa 1 4 3 8
26  United Team of Germany 1 4 2 7
27  Greece 1 3 0 4
28  Czech Republic 1 1 0 2
 Kazakhstan 1 1 0 2
30  Slovenia 1 0 1 2
31  Argentina 1 0 0 1
 Ecuador 1 0 0 1
 Estonia 1 0 0 1
34  Poland 0 7 4 11
35  Japan 0 2 3 5
36  Ukraine 0 2 2 4
37  Malaysia 0 1 1 2
 Mexico 0 1 1 2
 Venezuela 0 1 1 2
40  Cuba 0 1 0 1
 Portugal 0 1 0 1
 Uruguay 0 1 0 1
43  Hong Kong 0 0 2 2
 ROC 0 0 2 2
45  Belarus 0 0 1 1
 Jamaica 0 0 1 1
 Lithuania 0 0 1 1
Totals (47 entries) 264 264 260 788

Images for kids

  • Cycling pictogram

    Cycling pictogram

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Ciclismo en los Juegos Olímpicos para niños

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Cycling at the Summer Olympics Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.