How to qualify for road cycling at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained

Cycling has been part of the Olympic program since the first modern games, held in Athens in 1896, and is a sport that has a strong history in host country France.

Although the Tour de France might be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of cycling, it is Olympic Games Paris 2024 offers four road cycling Events – time trials for women and men and road races for women and men.

Discover everything you need to know about the road cycling qualification system for the next Olympic Games.

CONTINUE READING: Paris 2024: The search for Olympic qualification begins

How many road cyclists will compete at Paris 2024?

All in all 180 cyclists (90 per gender) will race through the flats and climbs of the Paris 2024 road bike course, with four of them riding on home soil: As the host country, France has been allocated two quota spots per gender.

Each NOC can qualify a maximum of eight athletes (four per gender), but there are specific restrictions for each event:

And as with other cycling disciplines, any athlete entered in any other cycling discipline has the right to be entered in road cycling, provided the NOC has obtained a quota place in the named event, not exceeding the entry limits per NOC and per event and the eligibility requirements for athletes are met.

Get to know the participation requirements here.

All quota places are allocated to the NOCs and not to individual athletes.

CONTINUE READING: Track cycling qualification system explained

What is the road cycling qualification path to Paris 2024?

The qualifying processes for road races and time trials differ significantly. Read on to learn more about both:

Street races for men and women – maximum 88 odds per gender

Places 89 and 90 are allocated to the host country. If the Host Country has already qualified for one or two Quota Places through any of the events listed below, the relevant unused Host Country Guaranteed Place(s) will be allocated via the final allocation of Quota Places .

There are three ways to qualify for the road races: UCI Road World Ranking by Nations, 2023 UCI Road World Championships Elite Road Race and 2023 Continental Championships (excluding Europe and Oceania).

UCI Road World Ranking by Nations (80 athletes per gender)

The UCI Road World Ranking by Nations October 2023 (exact date to be defined) is based on results from the Elite and Under-23 events on the UCI International Road Calendar over the previous 52 weeks.

This is the breakdown per gender:

• NOCs in places 1 to 5: Maximum athletes per NOC: 4 / Total number of athletes: 20

• NOCs rank 6 to 10: max. athletes per NOC: 3 / total number of athletes: 15

• NOCs rank 11 to 20: max. athletes per NOC: 2 / total number of athletes: 20

• NOCs rank 21 to 45: max. athletes per NOC: 1 / total number of athletes: 25

There is one more factor to consider Europe and Oceania: the Minimum allocation per continent. In the event that at least one NOC is not represented on one of these continents, the last available quota places in the UCI Road World Ranking by Nations will be allocated to the top-ranked NOC of that continent from October 2023. Such an allocation will result in a corresponding reduction (maximum of one per NOC) of places in reverse order of the UCI Road World Ranking by Nations – provided always that such a reduction would not result in the continent of the NOC concerned losing its sole quota.

Here you can find the updated UCI Road World Ranking by Nations.

2023 UCI Road World Championships Elite Road Race (two athletes per gender)

The top two ranked NOCs not qualifying quota places through the UCI Road World Rankings by Nations can qualify a maximum of one quota place per gender through the 2023 UCI Road World Championships road race.

Continental Championships 2023 – except Europe and Oceania (six athletes per gender)

NOCs not qualifying quota places via the UCI Road World Rankings by Nations or the results of the UCI 2023 Road World Championships may qualify for a maximum of one quota place per gender through the Elite Road Race of the respective 2023 Continental Championships as follows:

• Africa: 2 top ranked NOCs, 1 qualified driver per NOC

• Americas: 2 top ranked NOCs, 1 qualified driver per NOC

• Asia: 2 top ranked NOCs, 1 qualified driver per NOC

Individual time trial men and women – 35 quotas per gender max.

There is no specific quota for the host country in the Olympic individual time trials. For each gender, only NOCs who have received quota places in the road race can be allocated quotas for the individual time trial. This means that the host country can only qualify for individual time trial quota places via the qualifying events below.

The maximum quota placement per NOC in the individual time trial is two per gender.

There are two ways to qualify for the Paris Individual Time Trial: UCI Road World Ranking by Nations and UCI Road World Championships Elite Individual Time Trial 2023.

UCI Road World Ranking by Nations (25 athletes per gender)

NOCs ranked 1-25 in the UCI Road World Ranking by Nations in October 2023 (exact date to be determined) will receive a maximum of one quota place, respecting the minimum allocation per continent (see below).

2023 UCI Road World Championships Elite Individual Time Trials (10 athletes per gender)

The top 10 NOKs in the elite individual time trial at the 2023 UCI Road World Championships will receive a maximum of one quota place.

There is one more factor to consider: the Minimum allocation per continent. In the event that a continent does not have at least two NOKs who have qualified via the World Ranking by Nations or the World Championship Elite Individual Time Trial, a maximum of one place per NOK will be allocated to the highest placed NOK of that continent in the World Ranking by Nations and still not qualified, among those who qualified for a quota place in the road race of the gender in question. Any such allocation will result in a corresponding reduction (max. one per NOK) of the places allocated to the NOCs via the Ranking by Nations, in reverse order of the latter and provided that such a reduction would not result in the continent of the concerned NOC loses its only quota.

Note on the confirmation process

The qualification process is followed by a process for confirming quota places and reallocating unused quota places following specific criteria found here [paragraphs E and F].

What is the format and schedule of the Paris 2024 road cycling competition?

The formats of both the time trial and road races are the same as Tokyo 2020.

In the road races, cyclists start the race simultaneously with the first rider across the finish line, who is declared an Olympic champion. In time trials, cyclists start with a staggered start, with the fastest rider being declared champion after all other riders.

The first medal competitions will take place on July 27, 2024 in both the women’s and men’s individual time trials.

The street races take place over an action-packed weekend August 3rd and 4th.

While exact details of the circuits have not yet been released, the venues for the road cycling races are Pont d’Iéna and Invalides.

CONTINUE READING: Sports calendar of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games published

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Racing cyclists to be seen in Paris 2024

To become an Olympic road bike champion, many factors – including the course and the weather – must play in your favor.

of Ecuador Richard Carapaz won gold at Tokyo 2020 on a tough, mountainous course that benefited his talents as a rock climber.

He is the face of Latin American road cycling but also other cyclists like the Colombian Egan BernalThe player who returned after a crash in January is also one of the favourites.

There are plenty of new stars and veterans going for gold in Paris, including a number of European talent.

of Slovenia Tadej Pogacar has already demonstrated his ability to play on French soil, having won the Tour de France in 2020 and 2021 and finished second at the 2022 edition. He also has an Olympic pedigree, having won bronze at Tokyo 2020. his compatriot Primoz Roglicwho has won La Vuelta a España three times, is a favorite in both the road race and the time trial, and is the defending champion in the latter.

denmark Jonas Vinggaard wore the yellow jersey at the 2022 Tour de France while there are plenty of rising stars including the Belgians Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aertwho was a silver medalist at Tokyo 2020.

CONTINUE READING: Interesting facts about Richard Carapaz

For women, one name has stood out above all others in recent years: Annemiek Van Vleuten. The Dutch cyclist banished the demons of a bad crash in Rio 2016 to win gold in the time trial and silver in the Tokyo 2020 road race.

She will be 41 by the next Games, taking on the challenge of a range of riders eager to clinch her title.

your compatriots, Demi VolleringSecond at the 2022 Tour de France Femmes (Van Vleuten was the winner), Lorena Wiebes and Gold Medalist from London 2012 Marianne Vos will all aim for the podium should they qualify for Paris 2024.

of Italy Elisa Balsamowho won gold at the 2021 World Championships aged just 23 is as important to watch as his compatriots Martha Cavalliwho won the Classic La Flèche Wallonne in 2022, and Elisa Longowho won bronze in Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016.

However, they will all be wary of the talents of the Austrians Anna Kiesenhoferwho wants to defend her Olympic title. Despite being a time trial champion, she surprised the field at the Tokyo 2020 women’s road race by slipping away unnoticed and racing to victory with many favorites to the confusion of the peloton.

Road bike qualifying schedule to Paris 2024

• XX October 2022 – XX. October 2023 [at the end of the 2023 season, specific day TBD]: Qualification period
• TBD: Continental Championships 2023 for Africa
• TBD: Continental Championships 2023 for Asia
• TBD: Continental Championships 2023 for America
• 3rd-13th August 2023: UCI Road World Championships 2023 – UCI World Cycling Championships 2023, Glasgow and Scotland (GBR)
• XX October 2023 [at the end of the 2023 season, specific day TBD]: Creation of the UCI world rankings
• XX November 2023 [specific day TBD]: Deadline by which the UCI must confirm to the NOCs the number of quota places obtained
• XX December 2023 [specific day TBD]: Deadline by which the UCI NOCs must confirm the use of the quota places they have received
• 1 January 2024 – 30 June 2024: UCI reallocates all unused quota places
• July 8, 2024: registration deadline for Paris 2024 Sport
• July 26 – August 11, 2024: Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Find out more about the qualification system for other sports that will be used at Paris 2024.