Cycling at the Summer Olympics

Lore & Background

Cycling at the Summer Olympics began in 1896 with a road race and five track events. Mountain bike racing joined at the Atlanta Olympics, BMX racing in 2008, and BMX freestyle in 2020. Women's road events started in 1984, and women's track events in 1988. The 2012 Games were the first where men and women competed in the same number of events in all cycling disciplines, though women have shorter distances for some events.

Reader's Guide

Cycling at the Summer Olympics has evolved from five track events in 1896 to a multi-discipline programme including road, track, mountain bike, BMX racing, and BMX freestyle. The inclusion of women's events in 1984 and 1988, and the equalization of event numbers by 2012, marked significant milestones. British cyclists have dominated recent Games, with Jason Kenny winning seven golds and Laura Kenny five golds, making them the most successful Olympic cyclists of each sex. Jason Kenny holds the record for most Olympic medals by a cyclist (nine) and is the only one to defend gold in three different events. The 2020 introduction of BMX freestyle added a non-speed race discipline. The sport's significance lies in its continuous presence at the Olympics and its expansion to include diverse cycling forms, reflecting broader trends in athletic competition.

Did You Know?

• Mountain bike racing, introduced in 1996, was the first non-speed race event; BMX freestyle followed in 2020.
• Jason Kenny is the only cyclist to have successfully defended Olympic gold medals in three different cycling events.
• Laura Kenny won the inaugural gold medals in women's team pursuit, women's omnium (both 2012), and women's madison (2020).

The Unprecedented Dual-Award Bidding

When the International Olympic Committee opened the 2024 bidding process in September 2015, five cities entered the race: Budapest, Hamburg, Los Angeles, Paris, and Rome. A cascade of withdrawals from three of those cities left only two contenders, echoing a similar two-way contest that had shaped the 2022 Winter Olympics selection. Rather than forcing a single winner, the IOC executive board in Lausanne proposed a bold alternative: awarding both the 2024 and 2028 Games simultaneously. An Extraordinary Session approved the plan in July 2017, and by late July, Paris was confirmed for 2024—marking the centennial of its 1924 Games—while Los Angeles became the sole candidate for 2028. The IOC committed an additional $1.8 billion in funding to the Los Angeles bid. On September 13, 2017, at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru, a unanimous vote formally granted the Games to Los Angeles. IOC president Thomas Bach highlighted the bid's reliance on existing and temporary venues and its entirely private funding model as record-setting features.

A Historic Third Hosting

Los Angeles will join an exclusive group of cities that have staged the Summer Olympics three times, having previously welcomed the Games in 1932 and 1984. Only London, with its 1908, 1948, and 2012 editions, and Paris, through 1900, 1924, and 2024, have achieved this distinction before. What makes the 2028 edition particularly notable is that Los Angeles will be the first city outside Europe to host the Summer Games on three occasions. The event will also represent the fifth Summer Olympics and ninth Olympic Games of any kind held on American soil. Another first attaches to the 2028 edition: it will be the inaugural Summer Olympics presided over by IOC president Kirsty Coventry. The Games are scheduled for July 14 through 30, 2028, with competitions spread across the Greater Los Angeles area and two additional subsites in Oklahoma City, marking a geographically broad footprint for a single Olympic program.

Building the Transit Backbone

The transportation strategy for LA 2028 has undergone a significant evolution. Under former Mayor Eric Garcetti, the Twenty-eight by '28 initiative set out to complete 28 infrastructure projects before the Games, with the original ambition of making the event entirely car-free to ease congestion and tighten security perimeters around venues. Funding was drawn from countywide sales tax measures, Measure R and Measure M. However, by March 2024, the project list had been substantially revised: eleven entries, including five rail line expansions, were swapped for smaller, more achievable undertakings. By late 2024, observers flagged that only 5.2 percent of LA Metro's $3.3 billion Olympic-related project portfolio had secured funding, with several initiatives running behind schedule and uncertainties persisting around government staffing and interagency coordination. Civic leaders consequently shifted the narrative from a fully car-free vision to a transit-first framework. Mayor Karen Bass added strategies such as encouraging remote work during the Games to reduce pressure on the network. Key rail work includes the D Line extension, being built in three phases through 2027, and the Regional Connector, completed in 2023, which links downtown light rail lines for smoother transfers.

A Growing Olympic Program

The 2028 Games will showcase a notably expanded and refreshed sporting program. Three sports that debuted as optional events in 2020—skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing—have now been elevated to the core Olympic program, cementing their place in the Games' permanent lineup. Beyond those, flag football and squash will make their Olympic debuts as optional sports, broadening the competitive landscape. The 2028 edition also brings back several disciplines with deep historical roots: baseball and softball return to the program, cricket appears for the first time since its 1900 appearance, and lacrosse re-enters as a medal event for the first time since 1908. This mix of brand-new disciplines and long-absent classics reflects the IOC's ongoing effort to keep the Olympic program dynamic and globally representative. The geographic spread of events, with venues across the Greater Los Angeles area and two subsites in Oklahoma City, further underscores the scale and ambition of what will be the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, running July 14 to 30, 2028.