How to qualify for track cycling at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

In the world of track cycling, much of the talk recently has been about scoring points to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

But how does the qualification system work, exactly? How can Australia book its place? And who misses out?

Let’s unpack the qualification system for track cycling at the Paris Olympic Games.

The quotas

At next year's Games, there will be up to 190 athletes in track cycling: 95 men and 95 women.

Six events will be contested: the team sprint, keirin and sprint (we can categorise these as ‘sprint’ events), and the team pursuit, omnium and Madison (‘endurance’ events).

(To avoid confusion, in the rest of this article we’ll refer to the sprint as the ‘individual sprint’).

The fight is on to join the 190 track cyclists competing in Paris next year. (Photo: Getty Images).

In theory, the maximum team size for any given nation is 14: seven men and seven women. For each gender, they would be divided as follows:

• Team sprint – 3
• Individual sprint and keirin – 2
• Team pursuit – 4
• Madison – 2
• Omnium – 1

If you’ve noticed this doesn’t add up to seven riders, you’re right! That’s because there’s overlap between the events. Read on to find out how it works.

Oh, it’s also possible to add an eighth rider by entering an athlete from another cycling discipline – usually from road cycling.

It’s all about rankings

Qualification for Paris 2024 is determined by a ranking system called the “UCI Track Olympic Ranking 2022-2024”. There is a separate men’s and women’s ranking table for each of the six Olympic events.

A nation can improve their ranking by scoring points in these international competitions:

• continental championships (the last two editions before the Games will count). For Australia, that will be the 2023 and 2024 Oceania Track Championships;
• rounds of the UCI Track Nations Cup (only the best two results in each of the 2023 and 2024 seasons will count); and
• the 2023 UCI Track World Championships.

The race has begun for Olympic qualification points. (Photo: Getty Images)

The points awarded are based on the points scales detailed in the UCI's technical regulations, with an extra multiplier applied:

• Continental Championships: x0.75
• Nations Cups: x1.0
• World Championships: x1.5

At any competition, only the best athlete or team per nation counts towards that nation’s points. For example, if Australian riders come 1st and 2nd in the omnium at the Oceania Championships, only the winner’s points count for Australia. The third placegetter will receive the points equivalent to second place.

The points scales are too detailed to list here, but let’s look at an example. Let’s say an Australian male wins the individual sprint in every event before the Olympics. Here’s how many points they would score in the Olympic Ranking for men’s individual sprint:

• 2023 Oceania Championship: 450 points
• 2023 Nations Cup #1: 800
• 2023 Nations Cup #2: 800
• 2023 World Championship: 1,500
• 2024 Oceania Championship: 450
• 2024 Nations Cup #1: 800
• 2024 Nations Cup #2: 800
• Total: 5,600

OK, so that’s the points system in a nutshell. How does it determine who goes to Paris 2024? Let’s look at the qualification pathway.

The team events are a golden ticket

Timed team events have a privileged position in the system.

That's because qualifying for a team event gives your nation a full allotment of places in the other sprint or endurance events respectively. The team events, you could say, are your golden ticket to the Games.

For the team sprint, the eight top-ranked nations will qualify a team of 3 athletes for Paris 2024. Those nations also automatically qualify 2 athletes for the individual sprint and keirin.

For the team pursuit, the top 10 nations each qualify a team of 4 athletes. Those nations also automatically qualify 2 athletes for the Madison, and one 1 for the omnium.

The team sprint, pictured, and team pursuit are the keys to the Games. (Photo: Getty Images)

Note, however, that the athletes who participate in those other events must already be entered into another track event or cycling discipline. In practice, this means two of your team sprinters will contest the individual sprint and keirin, and two (or three) of your pursuiters will contest the Madison and omnium.

It’s also possible for a road cyclist to compete in the road race, then head to the track for the bunch races.

In summary, if your nation ranks high enough in the team pursuit and team sprint, you’ll be set to race the full program at Paris 2024.

You can also qualify through the individual events

If your nation misses out on the team sprint or team pursuit, it’s not all over. You can still qualify for the other events.

The sprint and keirin are interconnected. In the individual sprint, the seven top-ranked nations who didn’t qualify for the team sprint will receive a quota of 1 rider. That nation will also be able to enter one athlete (usually that same rider) into the keirin.

For the keirin, the same applies vice-versa for the seven top nations in the keirin rankings. In all, therefore, the maximum number of athletes contesting the individual sprint and keirin is 30.

For the Madison, the five top-ranked nations who didn’t qualify for the team pursuit will earn a quota of 1 team. Hence, there will be a maximum of 15 teams in the Olympic Madison.

For the omnium, all 15 nations that qualified for the Madison will be allowed to enter 1 athlete. Lastly, out of all the nations who haven’t already qualified for the omnium some other way, the top seven in the rankings will each get a spot. There will therefore be a maximum of 22 riders in the omnium.

Rankings in the omnium, Madison, sprint and keirin provide another pathway. (Photo: Guy Swarbrick)

Special provision: the continental rule

Finally, here’s a special provision that could provide a twist in the tale. It’s a rule that ensures every part of the world is represented at the Games.

For each gender, if a continent is not represented in any sprint event (team sprint, individual sprint or keirin), the best-ranked nation of that continent in the individual sprint will receive a quota of one rider in the individual sprint.

Also, if a continent is not represented in any endurance event (team pursuit, Madison or omnium), the best-ranked nation of that continent in the omnium will receive one place in the omnium.

These ‘continental quotas’, as we'll call them, replace the existing quotas, so the lowest-ranked nation will get bumped out.

Australia’s path to Paris 2024

So, to qualify for track cycling at the Paris Olympic Games, the goal for Australia is clear.

The main aim must be to score enough points in the team sprint and team pursuit to finish in the top eight and top 10 respectively.

Australia started strongly in the UCI Track Nations Cup in Jakarta, taking maximum points in the men’s team sprint and finishing fourth in the men’s and women’s team pursuits. Australia didn’t field a team in the women’s team sprint, so the most likely aim will be to qualify for the keirin and individual sprint.

Team results in the UCI Track Nations Cup will boost qualification hopes. (Photo: Alex Whitehead/SWpix)

Up next is the Oceania Championships in Brisbane, where it’ll be essentially a battle between Australia and New Zealand to secure top points in each event.

Next month, Australia will contest the UCI Track Nations Cup in Milton, Canada, having missed the latest round in Cairo. From there, full focus will be on the UCI World Championships in Glasgow, which offer the biggest single haul of points in this Olympic cycle.

In early 2024, the aim will be to perform well in two rounds of the Track Nations Cup and in the Oceania Championships. All this before April 14, which marks the end of the qualification period.

If all goes well, we’ll be cheering on a huge squad of Aussie cyclists at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome next August!

Feature photo: Getty Images