Cycling

by Joanne and Nicola

In cycling, athletes race on bicycles. These athletes are called cyclists. There are three types of races at the Olympic Games. They are: 

road, track and mountain bike. 

Cyclists ride different bikes for different races.

The road race is a very long race.   Men ride more than 234 km in the road race.  The road race for women is 126km long.

 

 

 

Track cyclists ride very, very fast inside a stadium called a velodrome.  They cycle around and around an oval track banked at 42 degrees. Track bicycles have no brakes. Track cyclists wear very tight ”skin suits” and special helmets to help make them go faster.

 

Mountain biking was first seen in the Olympic Games in 1996 at Atlanta.   The race is held on rough, steep tracks.  Men race between 40 and 50 kilometres, and women race 30 to 40km.  The cyclists have to repair their own bikes during the race.

 

Medals Won in Sydney 2000

Mountain Bike

Country

G

S

B

Total

France

1

0

0

1

Italy

1

0

0

1

Switzerland

0

1

1

2

Belgium

0

1

0

1

Spain

0

0

1

1

Road Cycling

Country

G

S

B

Total

Netherlands

2

0

0

2

Germany

1

2

1

4

Russia

1

0

0

1

USA

0

1

1

2

Kazakstan

0

1

0

1

Cycling Track

Country

G

S

B

Total

France

4

2

0

6

Germany

2

2

2

6

Australia

1

2

3

6

Great Britain

1

1

2

4

Netherlands

1

1

0

2

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