Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling sports include artistic cycling, cycle polo, freestyle BMX, mountain bike trials, hardcourt bike polo and cycleball. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the world governing body for cycling and international competitive cycling events. The International Human Powered Vehicle Association is the governing body for human-powered vehicles that imposes far fewer restrictions on their design than does the UCI. The UltraMarathon Cycling Association is the governing body for many ultra-distance cycling races.
Cycling has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics, at which a road race and five track events were held. Mountain bike racing entered the Olympic programme at the Atlanta Olympics, followed by BMX racing in 2008 and freestyle BMX in 2020. Before the 2020 Summer Olympics, all events were speed races, but the 2020 programme featured BMX freestyle for the first time.
The women's BMX racing competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on August 20–22 at the Laoshan BMX Field, the first to be officially featured in the Olympic cycling program.
Sarah Louise Walker is a New Zealand BMX racer. A competitor at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, she won silver in the Women's BMX at the latter event. Missing out on selection for the 2016 Summer Olympics due to injury, she was elected onto the IOC Athletes' Commission during those Games. In 2022, she was elected as its second vice-chair.
The cycling competitions at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place at five venues between 28 July and 12 August. The venues were the London Velopark for track cycling and BMX, and Hadleigh Farm, in Essex, for mountain biking. The road races took place over a course starting and ending in The Mall in central London and heading out into Surrey, while the time trials started and finished at Hampton Court Palace in Richmond upon Thames. Eighteen events were contested and around 500 athletes participated.
The cycling competitions of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo featured 22 events in five disciplines. The 2020 Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cycling at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics was held from 7 to 17 October. The events took place at the Parque Tres de Febrero in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Czech Republic participated at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 6 October to 18 October 2018.
Switzerland participated at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 6 October to 18 October 2018.
Norway competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the nation's debut in 1900, Norwegian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, except for two occasions: the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, due to the country's support for the United States-led boycott.
The Netherlands competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the nation's official debut in 1900, Dutch athletes have competed at every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, with the exception of the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis and 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, which the Netherlands boycotted because of the Soviet invasion of Hungary.
Ecuador competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's fifteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics, and its most successful to date. The country won its third, fourth, and fifth ever medals, two golds and one silver, respectively, during the games.
Latvia competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's eighth consecutive appearance at the Games and twelfth overall in Summer Olympic history.
The men's BMX freestyle event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 31 July and 1 August 2021 at the Ariake Urban Sports Park. 9 cyclists from 8 nations competed.
The women's BMX freestyle event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 31 July and 1 August 2021 at the Ariake Urban Sports Park. 9 cyclists from 8 nations competed.
The women's BMX racing competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 29 and 30 July 2021 at the Ariake Urban Sports Park. 24 cyclists from 17 nations competed in the event.
The men's BMX racing competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 29 and 30 July 2021 at the Ariake Urban Sports Park. 24 cyclists from 17 nations competed in the event.
The cycling competitions of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are scheduled to run at four different venues from 27 July to 11 August, featuring twenty-two events across five disciplines.
This article details the qualifying phase for cycling at the 2024 Summer Olympics. A total of 514 cyclists, with an equal distribution between men and women, will compete in twenty-two medal events across five disciplines at these Games.
The women's BMX racing competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics took place on 1 and 2 August 2024 at the Vélodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
