The road to Tokyo 2020 may have been bumpy, but track cyclists from around the world are now ready to deliver high end performances on the smooth 250m wooden track of the Izu velodrome. Seven days of action (Monday 2 to Sunday 8 August) will see Olympic medals awarded for men and women in the keirin, individual and team sprints, team pursuit, Madison and Omnium.
The action will be condensed with a single session per day, featuring non-stop racing for around 3 hours… and medals are up for grabs every day!
The first medals will be awarded in the team sprint, with the women’s final on the first day of competition and the men battling for gold on Tuesday. Each event features eight teams.
The female pairs will compete over 500m. The Chinese duo of Gong Jinjie and Zhong Tianshi claimed gold at the Rio 2016 Olympics, and this year Shanju Bao will join Zhong Tianshi to try to retain the title. However, reigning UCI World Champions Pauline Grabosch and Emma Hinze aim to match their rainbow jerseys with Olympic glory.
With three riders per nation, the men’s teams will battle over three laps (750m). Many eyes turn to the legend Jason Kenny, member of the t British teams that powered to victory in Beijing (2008), London (2012) and Rio (2016). Can he claim a historic fourth title in a row, this time with Jack Carlin and Ryan Owens? History is to be written, but the Dutch squad dominated the Brits in the 2020 UCI World Championships.