A medal will be handed out at the end of the day in the women’s team sprint event. The women’s team sprint made its Olympic debut in London and will make its fourth appearance in Paris. This will be the first time the event will feature three riders instead of teams of two.
The men’s race will hold the qualification round Monday, while medals will be handed out on Tuesday, August 6th, with the first round taking place at 1 p.m. ET. The men’s race first made its debut at the 2000 Games in Sydney.
In the competition, eight three-person teams work together to post the fastest time over three laps (750 meters or about 2,460 feet). All three riders start each race, but only the last rider finishes, and the order of cyclists does not change within the race. The lead rider sets the pace for the first 250 meters (820 feet) and then pulls off. After 500 meters (1640 feet), the second rider leaves the track while the anchor leg goes all out for the final lap.
Competition begins with a qualifying round in which each team completes a time trial, one team on the track at a time. Teams then face off in round one, which shifts to a head-to-head format with the fastest team against the slowest team from qualifying, etc.
The fastest two winners of round one advance to the gold medal final while the third and fourth fastest winners advance to the bronze medal match. Two placing races will take place to determine fifth through eighth place.
In an event often decided by less than a second, if there is a tie, the team with the fastest time over the last lap is declared the winner. Each race lasts less than a minute, usually around 40 seconds.
Who to watch: women’s field
Germany and China have each won medals every time the event has been competed at the Olympics (since 2012). Germany won gold in London, bronze in Rio and silver in Tokyo. China won gold in Tokyo and Rio, and silver in London. Both Germany and China are expected to contend for a gold medal.
Germany’s team has been almost unbeatable in recent years. They won three straight World and European Championship titles in 2022, 2023 and 2024. The team includes Emma Hinze, Lea Sophie Fredrich and Pauline Grabosh.
Great Britain also looks to contend for a medal behind Emma Finucane. She won the individual sprint at the 2023 World Championships and helped the Brits to a team silver medal. It’s the first time Great Britain has qualified for the event since London (when they qualified as Olympic hosts).
New Zealand is not considered a medal contender, but will be riding with heavy hearts and the purpose of honoring their teammate Olivia Podmore, who was a top sprinter and died by suicide in 2021.
The Americans did not qualify for this event.
SEE MORE: Cycling 101: Track cycling Olympic rules and competition format
Who to watch: men’s field
France has won a medal in each of the Games the event has been contested (first called Olympic sprint then team sprint). It has won a gold, two silver and three bronze medals. Great Britain has the 2nd-most medals and the most gold medals with three. Great Britain won three straight golds in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
The Netherlands team of Roy van den Berg, Harrie Lavreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland look to defend their Olympic record win from Tokyo. The Dutch have finished top-3 in each of the last eight World Championships and won five of the last six.
The United States hasn’t competed in each of the last four Olympic events and did not qualify for Paris. The Americans finished last in 2000 and 11th in 2004.
SEE MORE: Netherlands wins gold with Olympic record in team sprint
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.