The 2024 Paris Olympics are scheduled to run from July 26 to August 11. Here’s what you need to know about how cycling riders are selected.
Cycling includes various disciplines, but the oldest discipline remains road cycling. A historical discipline of the Olympic Games, road cycling was already part of the sports programme at the first modern Olympiad in 1896 in Athens. Absent from 1900 to 1908, road cycling has never missed a single edition of the Olympic Games, and women entered the programme in 1984. The time trial was included in 1996.
The selections in cycling at the Olympic Games vary in number of riders due to several factors, mainly related to the qualification criteria established by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the quotas granted to the Olympic committees. These criteria aim to ensure fair competition and encourage the participation of countries from different regions of the world. In total, 180 riders will take part in the road cycling competitions.
Two office seats
One of the main factors determining the number of riders per country is the UCI World Rankings. These rankings take into account the performances of riders and teams during the qualification period. Higher ranked nations are allocated a greater number of places. For example, in road cycling, the leading nations can field up to five riders for men and four for women, while lower ranked nations are only allowed one or two representatives. The host country is guaranteed 2 places per gender for road races.
The IOC and UCI also implement policies to promote geographical diversity. This means that each continent must be represented in each event. It has a minimum number of places, even if the nations from these continents are not among the highest ranked at world level. There are African, American and Asian continental championships. This rule ensures global representation and promotes cycling in all regions of the world.
Important competition results
In addition, some cycling disciplines, such as BMX or track, have specific limits on the number of participants per country, regardless of the world ranking. These limits are set to avoid excessive domination by certain countries and to promote a more open and exciting competition.
Finally, there are individual qualification criteria. Some runners can be selected for the Games by achieving exceptional results in specific competitions (French elite championship, World championship, European championship).