- BMX: Olympic BMX Center – X Park (Deodoro Zone)
- Mountain: Mountain Bike Track – X-Park (Deodoro Zone)
- Road: Flamengo Park (Copacabana Zone)
- Track: Olympic Velodrome – Olympic Park (Barra Zone)
- BMX: Aug. 17-19
- Mountain: Aug. 20-21
- Road: Aug. 6-7 & 10
- Track: Aug. 11-16
Olympic introduction:
- Road and Track: 1896 (Athens, Greece)
- Mountain: 1996 (Atlanta, Georgia)
- BMX: 2008 (Beijing, China)
Preview
American cycling looks to put the finishing touches on a solid quadrennium with another strong Olympic showing at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Primed to pick up where it left off in London, Team USA is led by hard-charging women on the track and road, while the BMX team is eager to remind the world that the newest cycling discipline to the Olympic lineup still belongs to the U.S.
The women’s track team pursuit squad has spent the last four years trimming time and tightening efforts to reach the top of the podium in 2016. Led by Sarah Hammer, who helped the U.S. to the women’s team pursuit Olympic silver medal in 2012, the reigning world champions are among the favorites to take gold in Rio. Hammer will also represent Team USA in the women’s omnium. She earned silver in the event in 2012 and recently took bronze at the 2015 UCI World Championships in London.
On the road, look for two-time Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong to challenge the women’s individual time trial, while 2015 World Championships bronze medalist Megan Guarnier and 2012 Olympian Evelyn Stevens will lead a strong group of four women in the road race.
Team USA’s BMX cyclists are eager to get back on the medal stand after coming home empty handed in London. The Americans earned a silver and two bronze medals in Beijing, accounting for 50 percent of the total medal count. Experience will be key for Team USA in 2016, as Brooke Crain, Connor Fields, Nic Long and Alise Post return to the Olympic BMX track to finish what they started four years ago in London.
Athletes To Watch
Kristin Armstrong
Out of retirement for the second time in her career, the 42-year-old Armstrong has the opportunity to win her third consecutive Olympic individual time trial gold medal the day before her 43rd birthday. She won the 2015 time trial national championship in just her second event since returning to competition, and she took fifth at the 2015 UCI Road Cycling World Championships.
Connor Fields
A young talent in the men’s BMX program, the 23-year-old Fields returns for his second Olympics. Coming off a fractured wrist, Fields looks to build on his seventh-place finish in London. He has come on strong in the last four years, most recently winning the 2016 USA Cycling BMX National Championships and 2013 UCI BMX World Championships time trial.
Megan Guarnier
Coming off one of the best seasons in U.S. women’s cycling history, Guarnier heads into Rio ranked No. 1 in the world (UCI). The back-to-back road national champion has collected wins at the Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile, AMGEN Tour of California and Philadelphia Cycling Classic in 2016, all which came just months after earning bronze at the 2015 UCI Road World Championships in Richmond, Virginia.
Sarah Hammer
Hammer returns to the Olympic velodrome for her third consecutive Games in Rio. An eight-time world champion and world-record holder, Hammer won silver in the women’s omnium and helped the U.S. to the women’s team pursuit silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Taylor Phinney
Phinney missed 16 months after fracturing his leg at the 2014 USA Cycling Pro Road and Time Trial National Championships, but made a strong comeback just in time for the 2015 UCI Road World Championships in September. The two-time Olympian (2008 track and 2012 road) narrowly missed two medals in London, finishing fourth in both the individual time trial and men’s road race.
Storylines
- Nine cyclists from the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team are returning to the Olympic stage in Rio. Road cyclists Kristin Armstrong, Taylor Phinney and Evelyn Stevens all had remarkable 2015 seasons. Armstrong came out of retirement and nearly reached the world championship podium in just her third event since the London Olympics. Meanwhile, Phinney came back from a fractured leg to make the 2015 World Championship Team and Stevens remains a dual threat in the individual time trial and road race. Two-time Olympic silver medalist Sarah Hammer is back for her third Olympic appearance in track cycling with sights set on building off her two 2012 Olympic silver medals, while mountain bike Olympian Lea Davison has paired experience with success to remain atop the sport. Wrapping up the cycling disciplines is BMX with the return of London 2012 Olympians Brooke Crain, Connor Fields, Nic Long and Alise Post.
- Armstrong seeks her third consecutive Olympic title in the women’s individual time trial in Rio, and has come out of retirement for a second time to do so. She missed an automatic nomination to the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team last fall by not reaching the 2015 World Championships podium, but was one of three discretionary picks for the women’s road team.
- The women’s track team pursuit squad has spent the last four years trimming time and tightening efforts to reach the top of the Olympic podium in 2016. The team made history for USA Cycling by winning the program’s first world title in team pursuit in 2015. Led by Sarah Hammer, who helped the U.S. to the women’s team pursuit Olympic silver medal in 2012, this young group is among the favorites to take gold in Rio.