Olympic track cycling is a thrilling demonstration of two-wheeled speed, power, and accuracy.  With its sharp velodrome curves, it pits the quickest cyclists in the world against the clock and other competitors.

It has developed throughout time into a well-rounded, fiercely competitive sport that features elite male and female participants. Read on to know more about the sport of Olympic track cycling.

Track cycling velodrome

Track cycling at the Olympic velodrome - the sport has been contested since 1896

Paris 2024 Track Cycling Events

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, held at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome, track cycling featured six events for both men and women, achieving full gender parity for the first time in the sport's Olympic history:

  • Team Sprint — three riders complete three laps (750m) with each rider leading for one lap before peeling off.
  • Individual Sprint — two cyclists race each other over three laps from a rolling start in a best-of-three format.
  • Keirin — cyclists sprint for victory following a speed-controlled start behind a motorized pacer, with the pace gradually increasing before the pacer exits.
  • Team Pursuit — two teams of four riders race each other starting on opposite sides of the velodrome over 4,000m (men) or 4,000m (women).
  • Omnium — a multi-race event comprising four disciplines: Scratch Race, Tempo Race, Elimination Race, and Points Race, with points awarded across all events.
  • Madison — a cycling relay race where two-person teams alternate laps through hand-slings over 200 laps (50km) for men or 120 laps (30km) for women.

Paris 2024 Results and Medal Winners

The Paris 2024 track cycling competition was dominated by several outstanding performances, with the Netherlands' Harrie Lavreysen completing a historic hat-trick of sprint golds.

Men's Track Cycling Results

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Team Sprint 🇳🇱 Netherlands
40.949 WR		 🇬🇧 Great Britain
41.814		 🇦🇺 Australia
41.597
Individual Sprint 🇳🇱 Harrie Lavreysen 🇦🇺 Matthew Richardson 🇬🇧 Jack Carlin
Keirin 🇳🇱 Harrie Lavreysen 🇦🇺 Matthew Richardson 🇦🇺 Matthew Glaetzer
Team Pursuit 🇦🇺 Australia
3:40.730		 🇬🇧 Great Britain
3:42.067		 🇮🇹 Italy
3:43.112
Omnium 🇫🇷 Benjamin Thomas
164 points		 🇵🇹 Iuri Leitao
153 points

🇧🇪 Fabio van den Bossche                         131 points
Madison 🇵🇹 Portugal
Leitao/Oliveira - 55 points		 🇮🇹 Italy
Consonni/Viviani - 47 points		 🇩🇰 Denmark
Larsen/Moerkov - 41 points
“From the beginning I tried not to think about (gold) too much, I just took it day-by-day.”
— Harrie Lavreysen on his mindset during the Paris 2024 track cycling competition

Women's Track Cycling Results

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Team Sprint 🇬🇧 Great Britain
45.186 WR		 🇳🇿 New Zealand
45.348		 🇩🇪 Germany
45.400
Individual Sprint 🇳🇿 Ellesse Andrews 🇩🇪 Lea Sophie Friedrich 🇬🇧 Emma Finucane
Keirin 🇳🇿 Ellesse Andrews 🇳🇱 Hetty van de Wouw 🇬🇧 Emma Finucane
Team Pursuit 🇺🇸 United States
4:04.306		 🇳🇿 New Zealand
4:04.679		 🇬🇧 Great Britain
4:06.710
Omnium 🇺🇸 Jennifer Valente
144 points		 🇵🇱 Daria Pikulik 🇳🇿 Ally Wollaston
Madison 🇮🇹 Italy
Consonni/Guazzini		 🇬🇧 Great Britain
Barker/Evans		 🇳🇱 Netherlands
van der Duin/van Belle

💡 Pro Tip: The United States achieved a historic milestone at Paris 2024, winning their first-ever gold medal in the women's team pursuit, with the quartet of Jennifer Valente, Lily Williams, Chloe Dygert, and Kristen Faulkner posting a time of 4:04.306.

History of Track Cycling Events

Track cycling has undergone significant evolution throughout Olympic history. Some events such as the 1,000m sprint and the 4,000m team pursuit have had long histories at the Olympics, while others have been added or removed from the program over the years.

Track cycling at the Olympics represents one of the most dynamic event programs in the Games. The individual sprint is the oldest track cycling event, having been contested at every Olympics since 1896 except for brief absences. The team pursuit race, introduced in 1908, is the second oldest continuously contested event, though it was not held in 1912.

Track cycling has experienced frequent program changes. There were 5 races for men and 3 for women at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. By 2000, this expanded to 8 for men and 4 for women. The program was revised again in 2008 with 7 events for men and 3 for women.

A watershed moment came at the 2012 London Olympics, when both men and women competed in the same five events for the first time. Significant changes in 2012 included the removal of the individual pursuit and points race (for both genders) and the men's Madison. Added to the women's program were the team sprint, team pursuit, and keirin, while the Omnium was introduced for both men and women.

For Tokyo 2020, the Madison returned to the program, bringing the total to six medal events each for men and women. This format continued at Paris 2024, where full gender parity was achieved with 514 cyclists competing equally split between men and women.

The achievement of gender parity at Paris 2024, with six events for both men and women and an equal number of athletes competing, marks a significant milestone in Olympic track cycling. This progression reflects the sport's commitment to equality and has led to increasingly competitive racing across all disciplines.

Dominant Nations and Athletes

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, track cycling saw a shift in dominance, breaking Great Britain's previous long reign at the top of the medal table. France topped the gold medal table with three golds, tied with Australia, Netherlands, and the United States. Despite finishing lower in gold medals (fifth with two golds), Great Britain still won the most overall medals with 11 across all cycling disciplines. Jason Kenny, with seven gold and two silver medals, remains Britain's most successful Olympic athlete and the most successful cyclist in Olympic history. 

Chris Hoy is also a highly accomplished track cyclist with six gold and one silver medal. Harrie Lavreysen from the Netherlands won three gold medals (Team Sprint, Individual Sprint, and Keirin) at Paris 2024, becoming the first track cyclist to win gold in these three specific sprint events at a single Olympics.

Jennifer Valente of the United States defended her omnium title, winning back-to-back gold medals in the event and becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic track title in Tokyo. Portugal also achieved a historic first, with Iuri Leitao and Rui Oliveira winning the country's first-ever Olympic track cycling gold medal in the men's Madison event.

World Records Set

Several world records were broken in track cycling at the Paris 2024 Olympics, including the Netherlands men's team sprint (40.949s) and Great Britain women's team sprint (45.186s).

Historic Performances

Harrie Lavreysen's triple gold joins Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny as the only riders to win three sprint golds at one Olympics.

First-Time Winners

Portugal won their first track cycling gold, while the USA claimed their first women's team pursuit gold medal.

The Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome

Paris 2024 track cycling events took place at the National Velodrome in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, located southwest of Paris. The venue features a 250-meter indoor wooden track and was specifically upgraded for the Olympics to accommodate the world's best cyclists.

The velodrome's design and fast track surface contributed to the exceptional performances and world records set during the Paris 2024 competition. The enthusiastic French crowds created an electric atmosphere, particularly during home nation victories like Benjamin Thomas's omnium gold medal.