From NBCOlympics.com
Cycling at the Olympic Games spans four disciplines — road, track, mountain bike and BMX — each testing a different blend of endurance, speed and technical skill.
In road cycling, athletes compete in the individual time trial, racing alone against the clock, and the mass-start road race, where large fields navigate long, often tactical courses shaped by terrain and team strategy.
Track cycling takes place in a velodrome and features a range of sprint and endurance events, including the team sprint, keirin, omnium and Madison, with riders advancing through multiple rounds before reaching medal finals, often within the same session.
Mountain biking is contested in a cross-country format over rugged, technical courses, where riders complete multiple laps over climbs, descents and obstacles.
BMX includes both racing — short, high-speed heats over dirt tracks with jumps and turns — and freestyle, a judged event where athletes perform tricks in a park setting, evaluated on difficulty, execution and creativity.
Cycling has been part of the Olympic program since the 1896 Summer Olympics, originally featuring track events, with road cycling added in 1912, mountain biking in 1996, BMX racing in 2008 and BMX freestyle in 2020.