Tokyo 2020 Preview: Cycling

Australia will send a 29-member cycling team to compete for 22 gold medals across five disciplines in Tokyo.

Overview

Action begins on the road from July 24-28 where the headline acts are two-time world champion Rohan Dennis in the individual time trial and Tour de France star Richie Porte in the road race.

The husband and wife pairing of Dan and Rebecca McConnell will make mountain bike history on July 26-27 when they contest their third and fourth Games respectively, before Lauren Reynolds becomes the first Australian BMX racer to compete in three Olympics on July 29.

Australia is a major gold medal contender in the BMX freestyle which makes its Games debut in Tokyo, with Logan Martin fresh from winning the world title in France in June.

On the velodrome, there are gold medals up for grabs in six events;

The Sprint
Team Sprint
Keirin
Team Pursuit
Madison
Omnium

The track team of 14 includes six Olympic debutants but plenty of world champions as well.

Cycling Team

Ones To Watch

Logan Martin - BMX Freestyle is making its Olympic debut in Tokyo and 27-year-old Queenslander Logan Martin is the current World Champion.
Rohan Dennis - Two-time UCI Road Time Trial World Champion, Dennis has also won stages at all three of cycling's Grand Tours.
Men's Team Pursuit - The men's Team Pursuit will be hungry to go one better after winning silver in both London in 2012 and Rio in 2016, and surrendering the World Record to Denmark in 2020.

Anthony Dean - Made the Olympic final in Rio in 2016 and was a World Cup silver medallist in 2020 and is capable of anything on his day.
Kaarle McCulloch - The sole women's track sprinter on the Australian team for Tokyo after the retirement of her Commonwealth Games gold medal winning teammate Stephanie Morton. McCulloch raced at London 2012, was a reserve in Rio, but is back in the hunt for a medal in Tokyo.
Men's Team Sprint - The men's team sprint has rocketed into medal contention with the emergence of young gun Matthew Richardson combining with gun starter Nathan Hart and two-time World Champion Matthew Glaetzer who is heading to his third Games.

The Format

BMX Freestyle makes its debut in Tokyo and provides Australia with a genuine gold medal chance in Logan Martin. Competitors have 60-seconds to complete a series of acrobatic tricks and skills to earn points from the judges based on difficulty, creativity and execution.

The men's and women's Team Pursuit on the track is a 4km race against the clock where teams of four riders form a line and riders take turns on the front to complete the distance as quickly as possible.

The men's and women's Road Races will be the first cycling events of the Games. The men tackle 244km and the women 147km taking in Mount Fuji on a course that will be suited to the climbers. While Richie Porte is set to lead the Australian team, he will have plenty of top competition fresh from the Tour de France.

The men's and women's Omnium on the track is a combination of four races where riders earn points in each event contributing to their overcall chances of a medal. Events include the scratch race, tempo race, points race and elimination race.

What's The Story?

Matthew Glaetzer became individual sprint World Champion in 2018 then just over 12 months later was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He returned to training after surgery and remains on track to perform in Tokyo in either the Sprint, Keirin or Team Sprint.

All eyes will be on Slovenia in the men's Road Race in Tokyo where 2020 Tour de France Champion Tadej Pogacar and star climber Primoz Roglic will headline a two-pronged assault on the gold medal. Richie Porte, who cruelly crashed out of contention in Rio, will carry Australia's medal hopes.

Meanwhile in the women's Road Race, Dutchwoman Anna van der Breggen will attempt to defend her title from Rio when she lines up for gold. She is currently the UCI road race and time trial world champion.

Australia's men's Team Pursuit is eyeing redemption in Tokyo, having not won gold in the 4km race against the clock since Athens in 2004. They were fourth in Beijing in 2008 then won silver in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016 as part of a fierce rivalry with Great Britain. But a new threat has emerged with Denmark lowering Australia's World Record it set at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and shaping as the team to beat in Tokyo.

Great Britain has claimed 20 of the 30 gold medals on the velodrome from the past three Olympics and brings a wealth of experience to Tokyo. Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas will be attempting to win a third gold medal on the road after two on the track, while husband and wife pair Jason and Laura Kenny are eyeing history. Laura (four gold medals) already has more than any other British woman while a medal of any colour will see Jason move past Sir Chris Hoy as Team GB's most decorated Olympian. Kenny currently has six gold and one silver medal.

The Facts

Road - Men's road race is on Saturday, July 24 at 12noon AEST; Women's road race is on Sunday, July 25 at 2pm AEST beginning at Musashinonomori Park.   - Men's and women's time trials are on Wednesday, July 28 at 12.30pm at the Fuji International Speedway.
Track - Monday, August 2 to Sunday, August 8 at Izu Velodrome.

BMX - Race: Quarter-finals are on Thursday, July 29 at 11am AEST, semi-finals and finals are on Friday, July 30 at 11am AEST at Ariake Urban Sports Park.   - Freestyle: Seeding events are on Saturday, July 31 at 11.10am AEST, finals are on Sunday, August 1 at 11.10am at Ariake Urban Sports Park.
Mountain Bike - Men's mountain bike is on Monday, July 26 at 4pm AEST, Women's mountain bike is on Tuesday, July 27 at 4pm AEST at Izu MTB Course.

Did You Know?

Daniel McConnell will become the first Australian to compete in four Olympics in mountain bike in Tokyo.
Luke Plapp and Sarah Gigante are the youngest members of the Australian cycling team in Tokyo, both aged 20.
Tiffany Cromwell will make her Olympic debut at the age of 33 in the women's road race.
BMX rider Lauren Reynolds will compete in her third Games after finishing 15th in London and 11th in Rio, and is now coached by Olympic medallist Sam Willoughby.