Paris Olympics 2024 Track Cycling: Team Pursuit Explained

GB Team Pursuit 2023 Worlds

Track cycling has been a part of the modern Olympic Games since they were revived in 1896 in Athens, Greece. During that year, track cycling was among 43 events contested by 280 male athletes from 13 countries. Except for Stockholm 1912, where only a time trial was held, track cycling has featured in every Olympic Games.

Team Pursuit: A Test of Endurance and Precision

The Team Pursuit event is known for its clockwork precision and high speed. Despite being an endurance event, the times are around four minutes for women and just under four minutes for men over a 4,000-metre distance. This event first became part of the Olympic programme for men in 1908, with women being included from 2012. Initially, women’s teams were three riders racing 3,000 metres, but from Rio 2016 onwards, both menโ€™s and womenโ€™s teams have consisted of four riders competing over 4,000 metres.

Great Britain has dominated the sport in recent years, but other countries have risen to challenge their dominance. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Italy set the menโ€™s record at 3:42.032, while Germanyโ€™s women set a new record of 4:04.242.

Each team comprises four riders who race together across 16 laps (4,000 km), taking turns pulling at the front while the others draft behind in a straight line. Two teams start on opposite sides of the track, and the time is recorded as the third rider’s front wheel crosses the finish line.

Men’s Team Pursuit Schedule

Women’s Team Pursuit Schedule

Australia Men's Team Pursuit World Track Championships 2016 London
The Team Pursuit World Champions – Australia

Technical Skill and Strategy

The lead rider powers the team into a turn and then pulls off high on the banking, rejoining at the back in the draft of the last rider. Effective exchanges save energy, allowing the team to maintain a faster pace. Riders must be technically skilled and understand each other’s abilities well, ensuring at least three riders stay together until the finish. In recent years, the tactics have changed so that most of the fastest teams will deliberately finish with 3 riders. The 4th rider who drops off is able to empty themselves for the team earlier in the race before the 3 finishers take over to complete the effort.

Teams are allowed to enter five riders and combine them into teams of four for each round. To reach the final, teams must endure three rounds. The first is a qualifying round where each team races alone to set their fastest time. The top four teams compete for the gold medal, while the next four fastest teams can only earn bronze at best.

In the first round, matchups are based on qualifying ranks: 6th vs 7th, 5th vs 8th, 2nd vs 3rd, and 1st vs 4th. The winners of the last two heats compete for the gold medal. The times of the losing teams in the last two heats are grouped with the first two heats, and the two fastest teams from these six make the bronze medal final. In the final head-to-head rounds, the fastest team wins the medals, with an automatic win if a team gets within one metre of catching their opponent.

By mastering these elements, teams can turn the Team Pursuit into one of the most graceful and exciting events in the world of track cycling.

Track-cycling-What-is-the-Team-Pursuit
Italy at the Tokyo Olympics

Olympics Team Pursuit Past Winners

Men’s Winners Table

YearCityGold MedalistTeam Members
1908LondonGreat BritainBenjamin Jones, Clarence Kingsbury, Leonard Meredith, Ernest Payne
1920AntwerpItalyArnaldo Carli, Ruggero Ferrario, Franco Giorgetti, Primo Magnani
1924ParisItalyAngelo de Martino, Alfredo Dinale, Aurelio Menegazzi, Francesco Zucchetti
1928AmsterdamItalyGiacomo Gaioni, Cesare Facciani, Mario Lusiani, Luigi Tasselli
1932Los AngelesItalyNino Borsari, Marco Cimatti, Alberto Ghilardi, Paolo Pedretti
1936BerlinFranceRobert Charpentier, Jean Goujon, Guy Lapรฉbie, Roger-Jean Le Nizerhy
1948LondonFrancePierre Adam, Serge Blusson, Charles Coste, Fernand Decanali
1952HelsinkiItalyLoris Campana, Mino De Rossi, Guido Messina, Marino Morettini
1956MelbourneItalyAntonio Domenicali, Leandro Faggin, Franco Gandini, Valentino Gasparella, Virginio Pizzali
1960RomeItalyLuigi Arienti, Franco Testa, Mario Vallotto, Marino Vigna
1964TokyoUnited Team of GermanyLothar Claesges, Karl-Heinz Henrichs, Karl Link, Ernst Streng
1968Mexico CityDenmarkGunnar Asmussen, Mogens Jensen, Per Lyngemark, Reno Olsen
1972MunichWest GermanyGรผnther Schumacher, Jรผrgen Colombo, Gรผnter Haritz, Udo Hempel
1976MontrealWest GermanyPeter Vonhof, Gregor Braun, Hans Lutz, Gรผnther Schumacher
1980MoscowSoviet UnionViktor Manakov, Valery Movchan, Vladimir Osokin, Vitaly Petrakov, Aleksandr Krasnov
1984Los AngelesAustraliaMichael Grenda, Kevin Nichols, Michael Turtur, Dean Woods
1988SeoulSoviet UnionViatcheslav Ekimov, Artลซras Kasputis, Dmitry Nelyubin, Gintautas Umaras
1992BarcelonaGermanyStefan Steinweg, Andreas Walzer, Guido Fulst, Michael Glรถckner, Jens Lehmann
1996AtlantaFranceChristophe Capelle, Philippe Ermenault, Jean-Michel Monin, Francis Moreau
2000SydneyGermanyGuido Fulst, Robert Bartko, Daniel Becke, Jens Lehmann
2004AthensAustraliaGraeme Brown, Brett Lancaster, Bradley McGee, Luke Roberts
2008BeijingGreat BritainEd Clancy, Paul Manning, Geraint Thomas, Bradley Wiggins
2012LondonGreat BritainEd Clancy, Geraint Thomas, Steven Burke, Peter Kennaugh
2016Rio de JaneiroGreat BritainEd Clancy, Steven Burke, Owain Doull, Bradley Wiggins
2020TokyoItalySimone Consonni, Filippo Ganna, Francesco Lamon, Jonathan Milan

Summary Table

CountryNumber of Wins
Italy9
Great Britain6
Germany (including West Germany and United Team of Germany)5
France3
Soviet Union2
Australia2
Denmark1

Team GB Team Pursuit Women

Women’s Winners Table

YearCityGold MedalistTeam Members
2012LondonGreat BritainDani King, Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell
2016Rio de JaneiroGreat BritainKatie Archibald, Laura Trott, Elinor Barker, Joanna Rowsell Shand
2020TokyoGermanyFranziska BrauรŸe, Lisa Brennauer, Lisa Klein, Mieke Krรถger

Summary Table

CountryNumber of Wins
Great Britain2
Germany1