Who is cycling in the olympics 2024? Paris welcomed 514 riders across road, track, mountain bike, and BMX events. The field included stars such as Tadej Pogačar, who did not compete, and riders such as Remco Evenepoel, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, and Harrie Lavreysen, who did.
The Games have now finished, so this guide identifies notable competitors and explains who raced in each discipline. It also separates medal winners from other high-profile entrants, since a famous name on a national team does not automatically mean that rider competed in every event.
who is cycling in the olympics 2024: the quick answer
Paris 2024 cycling featured 514 athletes across 22 medal events. Riders competed in road cycling, track cycling, mountain biking, BMX racing, and BMX freestyle. The program included events for men and women in each discipline, with track cycling offering the largest set of races.
There was no single cycling team. Each country qualified riders under Olympic and international cycling rules, then selected athletes for particular events. Some riders entered more than one race: Belgian Remco Evenepoel, for instance, won both the men’s road race and individual time trial. Many others specialized in one event or discipline.
Among the most prominent competitors were Evenepoel, Dutch track star Harrie Lavreysen, British road and track rider Tom Pidcock, French mountain biker Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Australian BMX racer Saya Sakakibara, and American road and track rider Kristen Faulkner. They were part of a much larger international field, not a complete list of everyone who took part.
Which cycling events were held in Paris?
The Olympic cycling program grouped events into four disciplines, with BMX divided into racing and freestyle. Together, these made five familiar event formats. Knowing the difference helps explain why the roster includes sprinters, endurance racers, technical trail specialists, and aerial BMX riders.
| Discipline | Events | What riders do | Best known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Road | Road race and individual time trial for men and women | Race on roads, either in a group or alone against the clock | Long-distance tactics, climbing, and speed |
| Track | 12 events for men and women | Race on a steep indoor oval, in sprints or endurance formats | Explosive speed and team strategy |
| Mountain bike | Cross-country events for men and women | Complete technical laps on an off-road course | Climbing, handling, and repeated attacks |
| BMX racing | Racing events for men and women | Start together on a short course with jumps and turns | Fast starts and close-quarters racing |
| BMX freestyle | Park events for men and women | Perform scored tricks in a purpose-built park | Air, technical tricks, and creative runs |
Road races took place on public roads, while the time trials tested riders individually over a set course. Track cycling took place at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome. Mountain bike cross-country was held at Élancourt Hill, and BMX events took place at purpose-built venues in the Paris region.
Notable road cyclists and Olympic medalists
Road cycling attracted many of the best-known names in professional racing. However, Olympic selection is a national-team decision, and a rider’s professional team does not determine which country they represent. Riders compete for the country for which they are eligible under the governing rules.
Men’s road cycling
Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel was the defining male road rider of the Games. He won the individual time trial and the road race, becoming the first man to win both Olympic road events at the same Games. Italy’s Filippo Ganna took silver in the time trial, with Belgium’s Wout van Aert earning bronze.
In the road race, France’s Valentin Madouas won silver and fellow Frenchman Christophe Laporte took bronze. Other prominent entrants included Mathieu van der Poel for the Netherlands, Mads Pedersen for Denmark, and Pidcock for Great Britain. The race’s rolling route and late attacks rewarded tactical judgment as well as raw speed.
Some major names were absent. Slovenian star Tadej Pogačar did not compete in Paris, despite being among the sport’s best-known riders. National selections and personal decisions shape Olympic fields, so a leading professional’s absence is not unusual.
Women’s road cycling
American Kristen Faulkner won the women’s road race after making a decisive late move. Dutch rider Marianne Vos took silver, and Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky earned bronze. Faulkner also raced on the track, showing how an athlete can be selected for more than one discipline.
In the women’s time trial, Australia’s Grace Brown won gold. Great Britain’s Anna Henderson took silver, and American Chloe Dygert won bronze. Brown’s victory capped a strong time-trial career, while Dygert also had a major role in American track cycling.
Other well-known road entrants included Elisa Longo Borghini of Italy, Demi Vollering of the Netherlands, and Kasia Niewiadoma of Poland. Their presence reflects the depth of the women’s road field; Olympic medals went to only a small number of the selected riders.
Who raced on the Olympic track?
Track cycling had 12 medal events: six for men and six for women. Events ranged from short sprints to endurance races, and several required riders to work as a coordinated team. A sprinter’s strength may not translate to the omnium or pursuit, so the event lists included specialists as well as multi-event riders.
The most decorated individual track rider in Paris was Dutch sprinter Harrie Lavreysen. He won the men’s sprint, keirin, and team sprint. He was joined in the Dutch team sprint by Roy van den Berg and Jeffrey Hoogland. The Dutch men took gold, with Great Britain winning silver and Australia bronze.
On the women’s side, New Zealand’s Ellesse Andrews won the sprint and keirin. Great Britain’s Emma Finucane earned medals in both events, as well as in the team sprint. The team sprint gold went to China, silver to New Zealand, and bronze to Great Britain.
Endurance events brought a different set of headline names. In the women’s team pursuit, the United States won gold with a quartet that included Dygert, Faulkner, Lily Williams, and Jennifer Valente. Valente also won the women’s omnium. In the men’s omnium, France’s Benjamin Thomas took gold, while Portugal’s Iúri Leitão won silver.
Portugal also won the men’s Madison, with Leitão and Rui Oliveira combining for gold. Italy won the women’s Madison through Chiara Consonni and Vittoria Guazzini. Madison is a two-rider team race in which partners take turns racing and use hand-slings to exchange. That exchange is part of the event’s distinctive tactics, not just a change of rider.
Track racing also featured team pursuit and individual sprint events, among others. The pursuit rewards even pacing and precise formation; sprint races hinge on positioning and a burst of acceleration. If you are looking up a rider’s Olympic appearance, check the specific event: participating in track cycling does not mean that the athlete raced every track discipline.
Mountain bike riders to know
Paris held men’s and women’s cross-country mountain bike races on the course at Élancourt Hill. Competitors faced climbs, descents, obstacles, and repeated laps, making bike control and pacing as important as fitness.
France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prévot won the women’s race, securing a long-awaited Olympic gold on home soil. American Haley Batten won silver, and Sweden’s Jenny Rissveds took bronze. Ferrand-Prévot had competed in several cycling disciplines over her career, but her Paris gold came in mountain bike cross-country.
In the men’s race, Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock won gold. France’s Victor Koretzky earned silver, and South Africa’s Alan Hatherly took bronze. Pidcock had to recover ground after a puncture before regaining the lead. That episode is a useful reminder that mountain bike results can turn quickly: a mechanical problem can change the race even for a top contender.
Other notable mountain bike entrants included Switzerland’s Nino Schurter, a leading figure in the discipline, and Britain’s Evie Richards. Entry lists were broader than the medal podiums, and riders from many nations qualified for the two cross-country events.
BMX racing and freestyle competitors
BMX racing and BMX freestyle are separate events, even though both use compact BMX bikes. Racing is a head-to-head sprint on a course with a starting gate, jumps, and banked turns. Freestyle park is judged: riders perform tricks and lines across ramps and other features.
BMX racing
France swept the men’s BMX racing medals. Joris Daudet won gold, Sylvain André silver, and Romain Mahieu bronze. The home riders had to progress through qualifying and rounds before the final, where reaction time and a clean line through the first obstacles mattered greatly.
Australia’s Saya Sakakibara won the women’s race. Manon Veenstra of the Netherlands earned silver, and Switzerland’s Zoe Claessens took bronze. Sakakibara’s gold was a major moment for Australian BMX and made her one of the Games’ most recognizable cycling champions.
BMX freestyle
Argentina’s José Torres Gil won the men’s freestyle park event. Great Britain’s Kieran Reilly took silver, and France’s Anthony Jeanjean earned bronze. The result came from judged runs rather than a first-across-the-line finish, so the scoring favored the quality and execution of the tricks.
China’s Deng Yawen won the women’s freestyle gold, with American Perris Benegas taking silver and Australia’s Natalya Diehm winning bronze. Freestyle athletes are judged on factors such as difficulty, execution, and use of the course. A spectacular trick can help, but a fall or an incomplete run can reduce the score.
How countries chose their Olympic cycling teams
There was no open sign-up for Olympic cycling. National Olympic committees and cycling federations selected riders after countries earned quota places through qualification systems. Those systems differed by discipline and considered international results, rankings, and event-specific qualification pathways.
As a result, a nation’s strongest professional rider was not automatically guaranteed a spot. Each country had a limited number of places, and the federation had to decide how to use them. A country might favor a rider suited to the course, a specialist for a particular event, or a combination of athletes who could cover multiple races.
Olympic eligibility is also distinct from professional team membership. For example, a rider may race for a commercial team during the season but represent a national team at the Games. Olympic results are credited to the country, while professional team affiliations describe the rider’s regular racing organization.
How to find a complete rider list
A list of famous medalists is helpful for a quick overview, but it is not a complete roster. The full set of competitors is best understood event by event, since the road race, time trial, track events, mountain bike races, and BMX contests have different start lists.
- Choose the discipline. Start with road, track, mountain bike, BMX racing, or BMX freestyle.
- Find the specific event. For instance, the women’s road race and women’s time trial had different fields.
- Check the rider’s country and result. This distinguishes a selected entrant from a medalist and avoids confusing national representation with a professional team.
- Look for event-specific results. Track events can feature the same athlete in more than one race, while a rider may appear in only one event within another discipline.
One common mistake is to treat a list of medalists as the list of everyone who competed. It is not. Another is to assume that a rider’s famous professional team is the country they represented. Olympic cycling uses national teams, and a rider’s event entry is the clearest way to confirm what they actually raced.
The Paris Games have ended, so results pages now show final placings rather than upcoming start lists. If you are searching for a particular cyclist, include the discipline or event in your search. That small detail usually makes it much easier to tell whether the athlete was an entrant, a finalist, or a medal winner.
The answer to who is cycling in the olympics 2024 spans 514 athletes across road, track, mountain bike, BMX racing, and BMX freestyle. Standout champions included Remco Evenepoel, Harrie Lavreysen, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Tom Pidcock, and Saya Sakakibara.
For a complete answer about any rider, check the specific event and country rather than relying on a medalist roundup or professional team roster. Start with the discipline, then confirm the athlete’s event result.