Your guide to cycling at the Tokyo Olympics

Road Race

24 - 28 July

Two events make up the road cycling program - road race and individual time trial.

The men’s road race is the first of the cycling events and will cover a 244km course, including 4,865m of elevation starting in Tokyo's Musashinonomori Park. The course will feature incredible views of Mt Fuji.

The women will follow a similar course but will ride 147km with 2692m of elevation.

The individual time trial will start at the Fuji International Speedway. The men will take on two laps of the 22.1km course and the women will race for one lap.

Track

2 - 8 August

There are six different track events throughout the Olympics which both men & women compete in:

Sprint:
An individual race where matches are contested between two riders who cover three laps of the track. The first rider over the line wins the race, best of three races wins the match. The top 16 riders qualify for the knockout stages with a flying 200-metre time trial.

Keirin:
Up to seven riders compete in this six-lap race. A pacer is used, which gradually increases in speed as the cyclists draft behind while manoeuvring for position. The pacer accelerates to 50km/h, and when only three laps remain, it pulls away to allow the riders to sprint in a wild dash for the finish.

Madison:
Teams of two riders take turns to race in a 50km (men) or 30km (women) endurance relay. The resting rider has to touch the racing rider when changing over.

Team Sprint:
A team of three riders race around the track. The leading rider must complete a lap and swing up in a designated zone 15 metres on either side of the finish line. The second rider takes over the pace for the middle lap before the third rider finishes off. The race is a test of a team’s ability, and the quickest team over the three laps wins.

Team Pursuit:
A 4km race between two teams of four riders, who race to overtake the other team or to beat their time.

Omnium:
This is a multiple-race event. Four races are held in a day, and riders are awarded points for their finishing position, which are totalled at the end to find their ranking. The four races are tempo race, scratch race, elimination race and a points race.

All track racing will take place at the Izu Velodrome located in Izu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, 120km southwest of Tokyo.

BMX

29 - 30 July

The Ariake Urban Sports Park in Tokyo will host the fourth ever BMX Race Olympic event.

BMX races are thrilling sprint races with a maximum of eight riders who launch themselves from a gate atop the 8m high 35-degree start hill. Riders can reach 60km/h while riding over alternating jumps and around banked corners.

The course is approximately 400m long and of all the five cycling disciplines, BMX requires the most protective gear with a full-face helmet, gloves, goggles and long-sleeved protective clothing.

There will be 24 competitors in both the men’s and women’s events. Six riders compete in each of the four heats over three rounds, with the top 16 proceeding to the semi-final, and then the top eight competing in the final.

BMX Freestyle

31 July - 1 August

Many exciting tricks are performed in the BMX freestyle event including backflips, tailwhips, barspins and the superman which makes this cycling discipline exciting to watch. It is the first time BMX Freestyle will feature at the Olympic Games and it will be held at the Ariake Urban Sports Park.

Riders participate in two 60-second runs and are given a score based on their performance for each run, with riders ranked based on their average score. The highest-scoring rider will go last in the final.

Australian's Logan Martin and Natalya Diehm will make history as Australia's first Olympic BMX Freestylers when the discipline makes its Games debut in Tokyo. Logan will be a favourite for the Olympic title, having won the 2021 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships in France in June. Natayla took out the AusCycling BMX Freestyle National Championships earlier this year and sits in the top ten in the world ahead of Tokyo.

Mountain Bike

26 - 27 July

Mountain Bike riders will take on the new off-road Izu Mountain Bike Course which has a vertical height difference of 150m and is set to be harder than previous Olympic courses. The four–six-kilometre course is set to take riders between 90-105 minutes to complete. The course is a narrow dirt single-track trails with steep ascents and descents and rocky sections.

Riders whose time is 80 per cent slower than that of the race leader’s first lap are eliminated.

The race features a mass start and consists of multiple laps with the first rider to complete the required laps winning gold.

Where to watch

Tokyo 2020 will be live and free on Seven and 7plus

Santos Tour Down Under Race Director and six-time Olympian Stuart O'Grady will join the Sunrise team on their daily coverage of the Olympic Games.

Joining him will be other Australian Olympic icons - Grant Hackett, Stephanie Rice, Sally Pearson, Giaan Rooney, Jana Pittman, John Steffensen and Shane Heal.