The men's track time trial in Cycling at the 2004 Summer Olympics was a time trial race in which each of the 17 cyclists from 13 nations attempted to set the fastest time for four laps of the track. Nations were limited to two cyclists each. The event was won by Chris Hoy of Great Britain, the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's track time trial. Arnaud Tournant of France earned silver after a disappointing fifth-place finish four years earlier. Stefan Nimke put Germany on the podium for the second consecutive Games with his bronze.
The men's time trial was one of 5 track cycling events on the Cycling at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth event on the cycling schedule and was held on 11 April. The first time trial competition was the only time that Olympic time trials were held over the distance of one-third of a kilometre; when the event returned to the programme at the 1928 Summer Olympics the distance was set at one kilometre.
The Netherlands was the host nation for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. 266 competitors, 222 men and 44 women, took part in 103 events in 17 sports.
The men's track time trial was a track cycling event held as part of the Cycling at the 1964 Summer Olympics programme. It was held on 16 October 1964 at the Hachioji Velodrome. Twenty-seven cyclists from 27 nations competed, with each nation limited to one competitor. The event was won by Patrick Sercu of Belgium, the nation's first victory in the men's track time trial and first medal in the event since 1948. Giovanni Pettenella's silver medal put Italy on the podium for the event for the fourth consecutive Games, while Pierre Trentin's bronze was the first medal for France in the event since 1948.
The men's track time trial at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, was held on Thursday 6 December 1956. There were 22 participants from 22 nations. Each competitor rode singly against the watch from a standing start. Competitors were allowed one ride only. The event was won by Leandro Faggin of Italy, the nation's first victory in the men's track time trial. Ladislav Fouček earned Czechoslovakia's first medal in the event with his silver, while Alfred Swift gave South Africa its second consecutive bronze medal.
The men's track time trial at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, was held on July 20, 1976. There were 30 participants from 30 nations, with each nation limited to one cyclist. One additional cyclist, Elmabruk Kehel from Libya, was entered but did not start because of the last-minute boycott from the African countries. The event was won by Klaus-Jürgen Grünke of East Germany, the nation's first victory in the men's track time trial. Michel Vaarten of Belgium took silver. Niels Fredborg became the only man to win three medals in the event, adding a bronze to his 1968 silver and 1972 gold.
The men's track time trial at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, was held on 31 August 1972. There were 31 participants from 31 nations, with each nation limited to one cyclist. One additional cyclist was entered but did not start. The event was won by Niels Fredborg of Denmark, the nation's first victory in the men's track time trial since Willy Hansen won in 1928. Denmark tied Italy and Australia for second-most gold medals in the event at 2. Fredborg was just the third man to win multiple medals in the event; he would become the only one to earn a third, in 1976. Daniel Clark's silver medal was Australia's first medal in the event since 1952. Jürgen Schütze's bronze was the first track time trial medal for East Germany as a separate nation.
The men's track time trial at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland was held on July 31, 1952. There were 27 participants from 27 nations, with each nation limited to one competitor. The event was won by Russell Mockridge of Australia, the nation's first victory in the men's track time trial since 1932 and second overall. Marino Morettini's silver was Italy's first medal in the event; Raymond Robinson's bronze was South Africa's. France's three-Games podium streak ended.
The men's individual road race at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, was held on July 31, 1996. There were 183 participants from 57 nations in the race over 221.85 km, with 116 cyclists finishing. For the first time, the event was open to professionals. The maximum number of cyclists per nation was five, up from three in previous editions of the event. The event was won by Pascal Richard of Switzerland, the nation's first victory in the men's individual road race and first medal in the event since a bronze in 1936. Rolf Sørensen earned Denmark's third medal in the event, silver just as in 1964 and 1968. Max Sciandri similarly matched Great Britain's best result: a bronze, as in 1896 and 1956.
The men's track time trial cycling event at the 1932 Summer Olympics took place on August 1. Nine cyclists from nine nations competed, with each nation limited to one cyclist. The event was won by Dunc Gray of Australia, the nation's first victory in the men's track time trial. Gray was the first man to win two medals in the event, adding the gold to his 1928 bronze. Jacques van Egmond gave the Netherlands its second consecutive silver medal in the event. Charles Rampelberg of France took bronze, the nation's first medal since 1896.
The men's track time trial in Cycling at the 2000 Summer Olympics was a time trial race in which each of the sixteen cyclists attempted to set the fastest time for four laps of the track. The race was held on Saturday, September 16 at the Dunc Gray Velodrome. For the first time since 1896, a nation had more than one cyclist: Germany had two. The event was won by Jason Queally of Great Britain, the nation's first victory in the men's track time trial. Stefan Nimke's silver was the first medal for Germany since 1936. Shane Kelly, the 1992 silver medalist from Australia, became the fifth and last man to win multiple medals in the event with his bronze.
The men's track time trial in Cycling at the 1992 Summer Olympics was a time trial race in which each of the thirty-two cyclists attempted to set the fastest time for four laps of the track. The race was held on Monday, July 27 at the Velòdrom d'Horta. Adler Capelli rode a bike that allowed for a single gear change, a first for an Olympic track event. There were 32 competitors from 32 nations, with each nation limited to one cyclist. The event was won by José Manuel Moreno of Spain, the nation's first medal in the men's track time trial. The United States also earned its first medal in the event, with Erin Hartwell's bronze. Shane Kelly took Australia's second consecutive silver medal in the track time trial.
The men's sprint at the 1928 Summer Olympics took place at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. There were 18 competitors from 18 nations, with each nation limited to one cyclist. The event was won by Roger Beaufrand of France, the nation's second consecutive and fourth overall victory in the men's sprint. Antoine Mazairac of the Netherlands, the only other nation to have won a gold medal in the event, put the Dutch team on the podium for the third consecutive Games with his silver. Willy Hansen earned Denmark's first medal in the event, with his bronze.
The men's track time trial in Cycling at the 1996 Summer Olympics was a time trial race in which each of the twenty cyclists attempted to set the fastest time for four laps of the track. The race was held on Wednesday, July 24, 1996 at the Stone Mountain Velodrome. There were 20 competitors from 20 nations, with each nation limited to one cyclist. The event was won by Florian Rousseau of France, the nation's first victory in the men's track trial since 1968 and fourth overall. Erin Hartwell of the United States took silver, becoming the fourth man to win multiple medals in the event. Japan won its first track time trial medal with Takanobu Jumonji's bronze.
The men's individual road race cycling event at the 1936 Summer Olympics took place on 10 August over 100 km. Ninety-nine cyclists from 28 nations competed. This was the first time that the cycling road race was conducted as a mass start event since 1896 and was one of six cycling events at the 1936 Olympics. The men's team road race was held in conjunction with this event, with teams having four riders and the team time taken as sum of the team's three best finishers. The individual event was won by Robert Charpentier of France, with his teammate Guy Lapébie in second. Ernst Nievergelt of Switzerland took bronze. They were the first men's mass-start road race medals for both nations, which had not competed in 1896.
The men's track time trial cycling event at the 1936 Summer Olympics took place on 8 August and was one of six events at the 1936 Olympics. Nineteen cyclists from 19 nations competed, with each nation limited to one competitor. The event was won by Arie van Vliet of the Netherlands, the nation's first victory in the men's track time trial after two consecutive silver medals in 1924 and 1928. Pierre Georget's silver put France on the podium for the third time. Germany earned its first medal in the event with Rudolf Karsch's bronze.
The men's track time trial cycling event at the 1948 Summer Olympics took place on 11 August and was one of six events at the 1948 Olympics. Twenty-one cyclists from 21 nations competed, with each nation limited to one competitor. The event was won by Jacques Dupont of France, the nation's first victory in the event since 1896 and third consecutive podium appearance. Pierre Nihant earned Belgium's first medal in the men's track time trial with his silver; Tommy Godwin similarly took Great Britain's first medal in the event with his bronze.
The men's track time trial at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico, was held on 17 October 1968. There were 32 participants from 32 nations, with each nation limited to one cyclist. The event was won by Pierre Trentin of France, the nation's first victory in the men's track time trial since 1948 and third overall. In a sport where competitors rarely competed at more than one Games, Trentin was only the second man to win multiple medals in the track time trial. Niels Fredborg's silver medal was Denmark's first medal in the event since Willy Hansen's win in 1928; Fredborg would go on to be the only man to win three medals in the event. Poland earned its first ever medal in the time trial with Janusz Kierzkowski's bronze. Italy's four-Games medal streak in the event ended as Gianni Sartori took fourth.
The men's track time trial cycling event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place on 20 September and was one of the nine cycling events at the 1984 Olympics. There were 30 cyclists from 30 nations, with each nation limited to one competitor. The event was won by Aleksandr Kirichenko of the Soviet Union, the nation's first victory in the men's track time trial. Martin Vinnicombe's silver was Australia's first medal in the event since 1972, while Robert Lechner put West Germany on the podium for the second consecutive Games with his bronze.
The men's track time trial event at the 1980 Summer Olympics took place on 22 July 1980 in Moscow Olympic Velodrome. There were 18 competitors from 18 nations, with one additional cyclist entered but not starting. The event was won by Lothar Thoms of East Germany, the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's track time trial. Aleksandr Panfilov of the Soviet Union took silver, the nation's first medal in the event since 1960. David Weller's bronze remains—through the 2020 Games—Jamaica's only medal outside of track and field athletics. Denmark's three-Games medal streak ended.
