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Cycling at the Summer Olympics facts for kids

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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 contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics, at which a road race and five track events were held. Mountain bike racing entered the Olympic programme at the Atlanta Olympics, followed by BMX racing in 2008 and freestyle BMX in 2020. Prior to the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics (which was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), all events were speed races, but the 2020 programme will feature BMX freestyle for the first time.

Women's road events were introduced to the Olympic programme at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Women's track events were added in 1988, and both types of events have been featured since then.

The 2012 Summer Olympics were the first at which men and women competed in the same number of events in all cycling disciplines, including track cycling, which previously had more men's and fewer women's events than the 2012 programme. However, women have shorter distances for some events.

Summary

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
6
7 1920 6  Great Britain
8 1924 6  France
9 1928 6  Denmark
10 1932 6  Italy
11 1936 6  France
12
13
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
Games Year Events Best Nation
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

Events

Track cycling, men

Current programme
Event 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
Keirin - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X X X X 6
Madison - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X - - X 4
Omnium - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X 3
Pursuit, team - - - X - X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 25
Sprint, individual (details) X X - X - X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 27
Sprint, team - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X X X X 6
Past events
Event 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
1⁄4 mile - - X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
1⁄3 mile - - X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
1⁄2 mile - - X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
1 mile - - X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
2 miles - - X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
5 miles - - X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
25 miles - - X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
660 yards - - - X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,- 1
5 kilometres - - - X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
10 kilometres X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,- 1
20 kilometres - - - X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
25 kilometres - X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
50 kilometres - - - - - X X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
100 kilometres X - - X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2
12 hours X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
Points race (details) - X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X X X X X - - - 7
Pursuit, individual - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X X X X X X X X X X - - - 12
Tandem - - - X - X X X X X X X X X X X X - - - - - - - - - - - - 13
1 km time trial (details) X - - - - - - X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X - - - - 19
Total 5 2 7 7 0 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 4 4 5 5 5 5 8 8 7 5 5 6

Track cycling, women

Current program
Event 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
Keirin - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X 3
Madison - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X 1
Omnium - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X 3
Pursuit, team - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X 3
Sprint, individual (details) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X X X X X X X 9
Sprint, team - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X 3
Past events
Event 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
Points race (details) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X X - - - 4
Pursuit, individual - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X X X - - - 5
500 m time trial (details) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X - - - - 2
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 4 4 3 5 5 6

Road cycling, men

Current program
Event 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
Road race, individual (details) X - - - - - - - - X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 21
Time trial, individual (details) - - - - X X X X X - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X X X X X 12
Past events
Event 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
Road race, team (details) - - - - - - - - - X X X X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4
Time trial, team - - - - X X X X X - - - - X X X X X X X X X - - - - - - - 14
Total 1 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Road cycling, women

Event 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
Road race (details) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X X X X X X X X 10
Time trial (details) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X X X X X 7
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Mountain bike, men

Event 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
Cross country - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X X X X X 7
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Mountain bike, women

Event 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
Cross country - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X X X X X 7
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

BMX, men

Event 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
Racing - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X X 4
Freestyle - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X 1
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2

BMX, women

Event 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
Racing - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X X X X 4
Freestyle - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X 1
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2

Medal table

As of the 2016 Summer Olympics
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  France (FRA) 41 27 23 91
2  Italy (ITA) 33 16 10 59
3  Great Britain (GBR) 32 30 25 87
4  Netherlands (NED) 18 19 12 49
5  United States (USA) 16 21 18 55
6  Australia (AUS) 14 19 18 51
7  Germany (GER) 14 14 16 44
8  Soviet Union (URS) 11 4 9 24
9  Denmark (DEN) 7 9 10 26
10  Belgium (BEL) 7 8 11 26
11  East Germany (GDR) 6 6 4 16
12  Switzerland (SUI) 5 8 6 19
13  Russia (RUS) 5 5 11 21
14  Spain (ESP) 5 5 5 15
15  Sweden (SWE) 4 5 8 17
16  West Germany (FRG) 4 5 5 14
17  Czechoslovakia (TCH) 2 2 2 6
18  Colombia (COL) 2 1 3 6
19  Norway (NOR) 2 0 2 4
20  Latvia (LAT) 2 0 1 3
21  Canada (CAN) 1 5 8 14
22  South Africa (RSA) 1 4 3 8
23  United Team of Germany (EUA) 1 4 2 7
24  New Zealand (NZL) 1 3 4 8
25  China (CHN) 1 3 3 7
26  Greece (GRE) 1 3 0 4
27  Czech Republic (CZE) 1 1 0 2
 Kazakhstan (KAZ) 1 1 0 2
29  Austria (AUT) 1 0 2 3
30  Argentina (ARG) 1 0 0 1
 Estonia (EST) 1 0 0 1
32  Poland (POL) 0 7 4 11
33  Japan (JPN) 0 1 3 4
34  Ukraine (UKR) 0 1 2 3
35  Mexico (MEX) 0 1 1 2
36  Cuba (CUB) 0 1 0 1
 Portugal (POR) 0 1 0 1
 Uruguay (URU) 0 1 0 1
39  Belarus (BLR) 0 0 1 1
 Hong Kong (HKG) 0 0 1 1
 Jamaica (JAM) 0 0 1 1
 Lithuania (LTU) 0 0 1 1
 Malaysia (MAS) 0 0 1 1
 Venezuela (VEN) 0 0 1 1
Totals (44 nations) 241 241 237 719

Medalists

Cyclists who have won 6 or more Olympic medals.

As of the 2020 Summer Olympics§
# Cyclist Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Kenny, JasonJason Kenny  Great Britain (GBR) 6 2 0 8
2 Wiggins, BradleyBradley Wiggins  Great Britain (GBR) 5 1 2 8
2 Hoy, ChrisChris Hoy  Great Britain (GBR) 6 1 0 7
4 Van Moorsel, LeontienLeontien Van Moorsel  Netherlands (NED) 4 1 1 6
5 Downing, BurtonBurton Downing  United States (USA) 2 3 1 6
6 Meares, AnnaAnna Meares  Australia (AUS) 2 1 3 6

§ : currently ongoing.

Nations

Nation 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
 Albania (ALB) 1 1
 Algeria (ALG) 2 1 1 2 3
 Andorra (AND) 2 3 2
 Antigua and Barbuda (ANT) 2 3 2 3 1 5
 Argentina (ARG) 5 6 12 6 8 10 9 8 4 8 7 8 10 8 4 10 4 6 18
 Armenia (ARM) 1 1
 Aruba (ARU) 2 1 2
 Australia (AUS) 2 4 2 1 3 6 6 11 9 14 9 10 12 10 12 17 16 21 27 24 28 27 31 23
 Austria (AUT) 1 6 2 10 8 4 4 8 5 6 6 9 7 5 9 9 10 6 5 4 20
 Azerbaijan (AZE) 1 3 2
 Bahamas (BAH) 2 1
 Bahrain (BRN) 4 1
 Barbados (BAR) 4 3 2 1 2 1 1 7
 Belarus (BLR) 7 6 5 8 4 5
 Belgium (BEL) 1 6 1 15 9 8 8 12 11 7 13 10 15 14 7 12 8 6 7 9 13 9 11 16 14 25
 Belize (BIZ) 2 6 5 5 1 5
 Benin (BEN) 2 1
 Bermuda (BER) 3 1 2
 Bohemia (BOH) 1 5 2
 Bolivia (BOL) 1 1 1 1 1 1 6
 Brazil (BRA) 3 1 1 2 6 7 8 7 8 4 6 5 9 10 14
 British West Indies (BWI) 1 1
 Bulgaria (BUL) 7 10 5 5 1 4 6 6 1 3 2 2 1 13
 Cambodia (CAM) 6 1
 Cameroon (CMR) 4 4 6 5 4
 Canada (CAN) 5 2 5 1 6 7 6 6 2 3 2 6 9 11 13 11 15 15 15 12 15 15 19 23
 Cayman Islands (CAY) 6 6 6 1 4
 Central African Republic (CAF) 4 1
 Chile (CHI) 4 3 5 4 4 4 2 2 7 1 5 2 3 5 3 2 16
 China (CHN) 7 9 6 5 3 6 12 12 14 9
 Chinese Taipei (TPE) 4 5 1 2 3 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 12
 Colombia (COL) 8 7 8 10 10 11 7 7 8 12 9 8 13 17 15 15
 Costa Rica (CRC) 5 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 8
 Croatia (CRO) 3 2 2 3
 Cuba (CUB) 1 6 6 6 3 4 1 4 4 3 4 3 12
 Czech Republic (CZE) 6 8 13 12 10 12 6
 Czechoslovakia (TCH) 4 8 4 4 6 6 6 9 8 15 11 11 13 12 14
 Cyprus (CYP) 1 1 1 1 4
 Denmark (DEN) 8 6 6 5 6 11 11 13 2 8 12 13 13 11 11 13 9 11 12 9 8 15 10 13 24
 Dominican Republic (DOM) 1 1
 Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD) 5 4 3 3
 East Germany (GDR) 10 11 11 13 17 5
 Ecuador (ECU) 4 4 1 2 3 1 2 2 8
 Egypt (EGY) 3 4 1 3
 El Salvador (ESA) 5 1 1 1 2 1 6
 Eritrea (ERI) 1 1 2
 Estonia (EST) 3 7 5 6 4 2 2 7
 Ethiopia (ETH) 4 5 4 5 5 8 5 1 8
 Fiji (FIJ) 1 1
 Finland (FIN) 5 4 1 2 5 11 1 4 4 6 1 5 5 4 2 5 2 2 1 19
 France (FRA) 2 58 23 12 13 11 8 8 8 11 10 11 14 14 14 15 14 9 17 16 18 20 26 21 28 23 22 27
 Georgia (GEO) 1 1
 Germany (GER) 5 3 9 11 10 4 12 5 17 18 25 22 20 22 29 15
 Great Britain (GBR) 2 1 36 26 13 12 12 7 11 10 12 12 12 12 14 11 11 12 16 17 16 19 22 22 25 25 26 27
 Greece (GRE) 9 1 3 1 2 1 3 4 5 4 4 3 12
 Guam (GUM) 6 2 1 1 4
 Guatemala (GUA) 5 4 1 5 6 1 2 1 1 9
 Guyana (GUY) 1 1 1 2 3 2 1 7
 Hong Kong (HKG) 4 4 4 5 1 2 1 4 5 5 10
 Hungary (HUN) 5 4 1 8 6 5 7 7 4 1 10 1 4 1 1 2 5 3 1 19
 Indonesia (INA) 1 1
 Iran (IRI) 4 4 7 7 7 2 4 3 3 3 10
 Iraq (IRQ) 2 1 2
 India (IND) 9 5 5 3
 Independent Olympic Athletes (IOA) 5 1
 Indonesia (INA) 4 2 1 3
 Ireland (IRL) 2 5 3 4 2 3 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 3 15
 Israel (ISR) 2 2 2
 Italy (ITA) 7 1 4 12 10 12 10 11 12 11 12 14 14 16 15 14 10 21 18 18 21 18 13 15 13 19 26
 Jamaica (JAM) 1 6 3 2 5 3 3 1 8
 Japan (JPN) 4 1 5 15 1 3 5 9 12 12 8 10 11 14 9 9 16
 Kazakhstan (KAZ) 7 7 8 3 2 3 6
 Kenya (KEN) 1 1
 Kosovo (KOS) 1 1
 Kyrgyzstan (KGZ) 1 1 1 3
 Laos (LAO) 1 1
 Latvia (LAT) 4 5 4 5 7 9 2 5 5 4 10
 Lebanon (LIB) 1 1 2 1 2 2 6
 Lesotho (LES) 1 1
 Libya (LBA) 7 2 1 1 4
 Liechtenstein (LIE) 1 2 1 1 3 2 6
 Lithuania (LTU) 2 4 5 13 8 9 8 4 4 9
 Luxembourg (LUX) 1 5 4 4 4 4 1 6 2 1 2 2 3 3 2 3 16
 Madagascar (MAD) 1 1
 Malawi (MAW) 2 4 4 3
 Malaysia (MAS) 9 2 4 1 1 2 1 1 3 4 2 11
 Malta (MLT) 3 4 4 3
 Mauritius (MRI) 1 1 1 3
 Mexico (MEX) 3 5 4 4 10 9 12 6 6 8 5 5 9 2 2 2 2 4 18
 Moldova (MDA) 5 2 1 1 4
 Monaco (MON) 1 1
 Mongolia (MGL) 4 5 4 1 4
 Morocco (MAR) 4 4 3 4 4
 Namibia (NAM) 1 1 2 2 3 5
 Netherlands (NED) 5 10 10 11 2 11 9 6 13 12 10 11 12 7 16 13 17 16 18 24 26 24 26 23
 Nicaragua (NCA) 4 1 2
 North Korea (PRK) 3 1
 Norway (NOR) 6 4 4 2 4 3 1 6 7 8 10 5 9 6 10 8 8 6 7 19
 New Zealand (NZL) 1 1 1 2 6 1 5 5 8 4 7 13 14 17 17 16 16 21 19 19
 Oman (OMA) 1 1
 Pakistan (PAK) 2 2 4 2 4 5
 Peru (PER) 4 3 1 5 1 1 6
 Philippines (PHI) 4 3 1 4 3 2 1 7
 Poland (POL) 8 11 4 5 8 10 12 11 11 11 9 8 10 16 11 12 17 17
 Portugal (POR) 4 6 4 4 2 4 6 7
 Puerto Rico (PUR) 1 1 1 1 4
 Republic of China (ROC) 1 1 2
 Romania (ROU) 5 6 5 1 1 2 1 1 1 9
 Russia (RUS) 18 19 20 22 17 16 6
 Russian Empire (RU1) 10 1
 Rwanda (RWA) 3 1 2 3
 Samoa (SAM) 1 1
 San Marino (SMR) 4 2 1 1 2 1 1 7
 Saudi Arabia (KSA) 6 3 2
 Serbia (SRB) 2 2 2 3
 Serbia and Montenegro (SCG) 1 1
 Sierra Leone (SLE) 1 1
 Slovakia (SVK) 10 7 9 4 2 2 6
 Slovenia (SLO) 1 1 6 4 6 6 7 7
 South Africa (RSA) 4 1 5 1 1 2 3 5 6 5 5 6 4 4 8 9 7 17
 South Korea (KOR) 2 3 2 4 6 2 10 15 4 9 3 5 4 10 8 15
 Soviet Union (URS) 10 12 13 12 15 15 12 13 18 9
 Spain (ESP) 1 9 6 7 8 4 4 13 14 18 22 22 18 16 12 15
 Sri Lanka (SRI) 1 1
 Suriname (SUR) 1 1 2
 Sweden (SWE) 2 12 4 4 4 4 5 4 8 4 4 4 6 5 6 6 11 8 9 7 5 9 8 5 4 25
 Switzerland (SUI) 9 9 11 11 10 14 5 4 10 6 10 12 9 13 13 16 16 14 11 15 20
 Syria (SYR) 1 1
 Thailand (THA) 8 7 7 6 1 1 2 7
 Timor-Leste (TLS) 1 1
 Togo (TOG) 3 2 2
 Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) 1 1 3 7 6 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 12
 Tunisia (TUN) 4 1 1 3
 Turkey (TUR) 4 4 4 6 1 1 3 2 8
 Uganda (UGA) 2 1
 Ukraine (UKR) 12 14 16 16 10 7 6
 Unified Team (EUN) 19 1
 United Team of Germany (EUA) 10 14 13 3
 United Arab Emirates (UAE) 6 4 1 1 4
 United States (USA) 1 17 2 9 9 5 4 12 6 9 9 10 14 16 15 15 13 20 19 20 23 26 18 24 24 21 26
 Uruguay (URU) 9 7 5 5 8 5 5 5 1 3 2 3 2 2 1 1 16
 Uzbekistan (UZB) 1 1 1 2 4
 Venezuela (VEN) 1 4 4 5 6 5 2 4 4 6 5 3 4 12 9 15
 Vietnam (VIE) 4 6 6 2 1 5
 Virgin Islands (ISV) 1 1 2
 West Germany (FRG) 14 17 12 20 15 5
 Yugoslavia (YUG) 4 4 4 4 1 5 4 5 2 4 6 6 12
 Zimbabwe (ZIM) 3 2 1 1 4
No. of nations 5 7 2 11 16 14 24 27 13 30 33 36 30 48 40 52 54 49 34 54 62 76 68 55 61 66 74 80
No. of cyclists 19 72 18 97 123 103 139 149 66 175 188 215 161 297 303 329 359 295 230 359 422 451 477 462 464 508 501 523
Year 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20

See also

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

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