The Track Cycling is an indoor event in which riders speed through a steeply banked oval wooden track known as a velodrome. The riders will use a track bicycle, which has a fixed gear and no brakes, to compete in this event. There will be 10 events held in total which will be split evenly between Men and Women. The track events are:
- Sprint
- Team Sprint
- Keirin
- Team Pursuit (Endurance)
- Omnium
The Track Cycling events were held between August 11th and August 16th.
Men’s Team Sprint
Great Britain’s Trio of Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner put on a masterful display of skill and speed to clinch the Gold medal at the Men’s Team Sprint Finals on the 11th August. The Team clocked 42.440 seconds to set a new Olympic Record. New Zealand’s Ethan Mitchell, Sam Webster and Ed Dawkins had to settle for silver after finishing in 42.542 seconds, a difference of 0.102 seconds. The team from France had to settle for a Bronze medal with a time of 43.143 seconds.
- Gold Medal: Great Britain
- Silver Medal: New Zealand
- Bronze Medal: France
Women’s Team Sprint
China’s Gong Jinjie and Zhong Tianshi set the world record to take the Gold medal in the Women’s Team Sprint event held in the Velodrome on Friday the 12th of August. The team from China clocked 31.98 seconds, thereby beating the Chinese record set four years ago in London. Team Russia, comprising of Anastasia Voinova and Daria Shmeleva, won the silver medal by finishing in 32.401 seconds. Germany’s Mirian Welte and Kristina Voegel beat Australian duo Anna Meares and Stephanie Morton to clinch the Bronze medal.
- Gold Medal: China
- Silver Medal: Russia
- Bronze Medal: Germany
Men’s Team Pursuit
Sir Bradley Wiggins, Owain Doull, Steven Burke and Ed Clancy of team Great Britain won the gold medal of the Men’s Team Pursuit at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and set a new world record in the process. Team Australia and Team Denmark won Silver and Bronze Medals respectively.
- Gold Medal: Great Britain
- Silver Medal: Australia
- Bronze Medal: Denmark
Women’s Team Pursuit
Team Great Britain won the Gold Medal at the Women’s Team Pursuit event held on Saturday the 13th of August. Great Britain’s Laura Trott made Olympic history by becoming the first British Woman to win three Olympic Gold medals. Trott, Joanna Rowsell-Shand, Elinor Barker and Katie Archibald clocked 4 minutes 10.236 seconds to beat the United States in the final. Team Canada beat Team New Zealand earlier in the day to win the Bronze Medal. Great Britain continued its amazing performance in Cycling following a top finish by the Men’s Team Pursuit team on Friday.
- Gold Medal: Great Britain
- Silver Medal: USA
- Bronze Medal: Canada
Women’s Keirin
Elis Ligtleeb of Netherlands came out on top in the Women’s Keirin event held on Saturday. The Dutch woman beat Great Britain’s Rebecca James and Australia’s Anna Meares, who won the Silver and Bronze Medals respectively.
- Gold Medal: Elis Ligtleeb (Netherlands)
- Silver Medal: Rebecca James (Great Britain)
- Bronze Medal: Anna Meares (Australia)
Men’s Sprint Finals
Great Britain’s Sprint specialist Jason Kenny won his 5th Olympic gold medal on Sunday to beat fellow Briton Callu Skinner and Russian Denis Dmitriev, who won the Silver and Bronze Medals respectively. Kenny won the first two races in the best-of-three final to clinch the Gold. Dmitriev beat Australian Matthew Glaetzer to take the Bronze medal.
- Gold Medal: Jason Kenny (Great Britain)
- Silver Medal: Callum Skinner (Great Britain)
- Bronze Medal: Denis Dmitriev (Russia)
Men’s Omnium Points Race
Italy’ Elia Viviani was the recipient of the coveted Gold Medal in the Men’s Omnium event held on the 15th of August. The Italian won the 6 discipline event which was held over two days with a total points tally of 207. Mark Cavendish of Great Britain wont the Silver Medal with a total of 194 points and Lasse Norman Hansen of Denmark won the Bronze Medal with a total of 192 points. Cavendish has had a great year of cycling that includes multiple stage victories at the 2016 Tour de France and a Olympic Medal.
- Gold Medal: Elia Viviani (Italy)
- Silver Medal: Mark Cavendish (Great Britain)
- Bronze Medal: Lasse Norman Hansen (Denmark)
Women’s Omnium Points Race
Great Britain’s Laura Trott became the first British Woman to clinch four Olympic Gold medals by successfully retaining her Omnium Title. Trott scored 230 points to beat American Cyclist Sarah Hammer by a difference of 24. Trott concluded the 6 discipline event with a tactically superior ride, thereby closing down offensive attacks from her rivals and earning points in the 10 intermediate sprints. Jolien D’Hoore won the Bronze medal for Belgium.
- Gold Medal: Laura Trott (Great Britain)
- Silver Medal: Sarah Hammer (USA)
- Bronze Medal: Jolien D'Hoore (Belgium)
Women’s Sprint Finals
Kristina Vogel’s masterful riding skills won her the Gold in the Women’s Sprint finals held on Tuesday. The German was no match for Rebecca James and Katy Marchant, who won Silver and Bronze Medals respectively for Great Britain. The 24 year old Rebecca James also won a Silver Medal in Women’s Keirin event on Sunday. It was a tremendous day for British Cycling as the wins came just after Laura Trott defended her Olympic Gold in the Women’s Omnium.
- Gold Medal: Kristina Vogel (Germany)
- Silver Medal: Rebecca James (Great Britain)
- Bronze Medal: Katy Marchant (Great Britain)
Men’s Keirin Finals
The Men’s Keirin finals was held on Tuesday the 16th of August. Jason Kenny from Great Britain put on a spectacular display to clinch the Gold Medal. The Brit, who won Gold in the Men’s Sprint finals, equalled Sir Chris Hoy’s record of Six Olympic Gold medals on Tuesday. After the Keirin, Great Britain’s cyclists have won 6 Gold medals, 4 silver medals and one Bronze medals in the Velodrome. Matthijs Buchli from Netherlands and Azizulhasni Awang from Malaysia won Silver and Bronze medals respectively for their countries.
- Gold Medal: Jason Kenny (Great Britain)
- Silver Medal: Matthijs Buchli (Netherlands)
- Bronze Medal: Azizulhasni Awang (Malaysia)
The next cycling event is the BMX event for which the seeding run will be held on 17th August for both Men and Women.
