Men’s Sprint
Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands) is the clear place to start. The man with the big smile is the reigning Olympic champion and has won five world titles on the bounce. Matthew Richardson (Australia) is one of the last men to have beaten Lavreysen but that was in 2022, his best season, and he could only make the 2023 World Championship quarter-final. A British man has stood on the podium at the last four Olympics and Jack Carlin (Great Britain) is the obvious candidate. He is the reigning bronze medalist at the Olympics and World Championships. He also won bronze at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 where he was behind the Commonwealth and 2023 World Championship silver medalist Nicholas Paul (Trinidad and Tobago). The home support will be cheering on Sebastien Vigier (France) and Rayan Helal (France). Vigier won World Championship bronzes in 2018 and 2021 and has twice been the European Champion whilst Helal has twice won bronze in that tournament and made the quarter-finals in the World Championships in 2021 and 2022. Mateusz Rudyk (Poland) has also medalled at the European Championships, winning silver in 2023. He has been the unluckiest rider in recent years, finishing fourth in three of the last four World Championships. Azizulhasni Awang (Malaysia) was one of the men who beat him in the bronze medal ride-offs, that win coming in 2020. Stefan Botticher (Germany) was the rider who finished fourth in 2021, the year Rudyk didn’t make it. Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands) and Matthew Glaetzer (Australia) are both second choices for their countries but are more than capable. Glaetzer was a World Champion in 2018 and won bronze in 2022. Hoogland has won three World Championship silvers and silver at the Tokyo Olympics. Kaiya Ota (Japan) was the Asian Games winner in 2023 and also won a Nations Cup event in 2024 in Adelaide.
Lavreysen feels quite close to unbeatable but Richardson would be the one with the ability to beat him. Paul has the ability to put himself up there in qualifying by riding a fast time but is fallible when it comes to the head-to-head. Hoogland has proven he can’t overcome Lavreysen and in recent years has put his concentration elsewhere. Rudyk, Carlin, Vigier and Ota are probably the other main contenders. It is not necessarily an event that lends itself to shocking results but I could see both Paul and Hoogland losing in the quarter-finals. I think Carlin and Ota make the semi-finals along with Lavreysen and Richardson. I think Ota with his 2024 form causes an upset and steals silver ahead of Richardson.
🥇Harrie Lavreysen 🇳🇱
🥈Kaiya Ota 🇯🇵
🥉Matthew Richardson 🇦🇺
Men’s Team Sprint
The Netherlands were able to stop a run of three straight British titles at the Tokyo Olympics and has been the dominant nation for a while. They have won five of the last six World Championships and the last five European Championships. Harrie Lavreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland are two of the best sprinters in the world and that will make them favourites unless one of them is missing or out of form. Great Britain won silver in Tokyo after three straight gold medals but have lost Jason Kenny. They have made the bronze medal matchup in the last two World Championships, winning in 2022 and losing in 2023. That was despite Jack Carlin not competing in the bronze medal matchup. The one team that beat the Netherlands in the World Championships recently was Australia in 2022. They also got the win at the Nations Cup in Jakarta in 2023. The wins came with Matthew Richardson at his best so if he is in form along with Matthew Glaetzer they can challenge. France was the team that took third in the 2023 World Championships, having only reached the quarter-finals in 2022. They did win silver in 2019 and 2021. Japan were the fourth fastest qualifier in 2023 but lost in the quarter-finals. If they can translate their success in keirin events here then they will be competitive. They won in the 2023 Asian Games, finishing ahead of China. China have tended to podium in Nations Cup events and were quarter-finalists in the last two World Championships. Germany is perhaps a team past its peak, between 2019 and 2022 in the four major tournaments they came between third and fifth every time. Canada are the Pan-American Games winners from 2023.
The Netherlands have been so strong in this discipline now for so long. They have three of the stronger competitors. The only nation that has shown itself to be capable is Australia but they are inconsistent. The other teams are all quality operators as well and all it takes is a few great rides and suddenly a surprise team can be in a final. I’d be most surprised if China or Germany made the final but the other four all feel like possibles. I think the other semi-finalists will be Japan and Great Britain but France, especially with home support is a possibility.
🥇Netherlands 🇳🇱
🥈Australia 🇦🇺
🥉Japan 🇯🇵
Men’s Keirin
British cyclists have won the last four titles whilst the last two podiums have both also had a Dutch and a Malaysian rider. Jack Carlin (Great Britain) will likely be the number one British contender. His best keirin competition result was a Commonwealth Games silver medal in 2022. He has finished fourth and fifth at the last two world championships. Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands) is the Dutch sprinting superstar. He won three straight World Championships but has shown he is not infallible as he could only win Olympic bronze and finished fourth in the 2023 World Championship. The Malaysian contender is Azizulhasni Awang (Malaysia). He won bronze in Rio and silver in Tokyo so will be aiming for gold in Paris. Kevin Quintero (Colombia) was a surprise world champion in 2023, despite winning bronze in 2022. Behind him was Matthew Richardson (Australia) who won silver. He also took a Nations Cup victory in Milton in 2023. Compatriot Matthew Glaetzer (Australia) has won the last two “B” finals at the World Championships and also has two fourth-place finishes so he is proving to be a nearly man in this event. Jair Tjon En Fa (Suriname) was the nearly man in Tokyo, finishing fourth. Sebastien Vigier (France) was the European Champion in 2022 and finished fourth in his home World Championships that year. Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands) is another European championship medalist, winning gold in 2021 and bronze in 2023. He is also a double World Championship silver medalist. Shinji Nakano (Japan) won bronze at the 2023 World Championships and also a Nations Cup event in Cairo. Compatriot Kaiya Ota (Japan) finished third there and won the 2024 event in Hong Kong. Nicholas Paul (Trinidad and Tobago) won the 2022 event in Cali as well as winning the Commonwealth Games ahead of Carlin and was a fourth-place finisher in the 2021 World Championship.
Keirin is the sprint event that most lends itself to a shock. It showed itself to be a hard track to overtake with its long turns. That means this race could come down to which rider has the best tactics and draw. I think the final comes down to the Dutch pair, Awang, Glaetzer, Nakano and Vigier. From there I think Hoogland can actually cause a bit of an upset. I think Awang can win another medal and Glaetzer beats Lavreysan to the line to win bronze.
🥇Jeffrey Hoogland 🇳🇱
🥈Azizulhasni Awang 🇲🇾
🥉Matthew Glaetzer 🇦🇺
Men’s Team Pursuit
European nations have dominated this event over the last few years. Italy are the reigning Olympic champions. They won the World title in 2021 as well, finishing second in the two Championships since. In 2022, it was Great Britainwho took that crown after winning bronze in 2021. They were second in the European Championship of 2023 and 2022 Commonwealth Games. In the 2023 World Championships, they crashed in the final corner of qualification when looking like the team that may be capable of challenging Denmark. Denmark won the world title, adding to a 2020 crown. They are the silver medal holders from the Tokyo Olympics. Australia won bronze in Tokyo. They were world champions in 2017 and 2019 but have finished fourth at the last two editions of the event. New Zealand beat them in the 2023 World Championship to win bronze after winning the Commonwealth Games in 2022. France was the European champions in 2022, but after a 2021 World Championship silver medal, they have fallen in the quarter-finals at the last two events. As have Germany whilst Belgium were quarter-finalists in 2022. Japan made it in 2023 and was the winner of the Asian Games. Canada were also a 2023 World Championship quarter-finalist and won the Pan-American Games.
There seems to be a top six who should get to decide the medals between themselves. Denmark and Great Britain look like the strongest two nations and they should compete in the final. I think the other semi-final should be Italy and Australia with New Zealand and France as potential options. I edge to Great Britain taking the gold whilst I think Italy can take bronze.
🥇Great Britain 🇬🇧
🥈Denmark 🇩🇰
🥉Italy 🇮🇹
Men’s Madison
The Danish pair of Norman Leth/Morkov have dominated this event for a few years. They are the reigning Olympic champions but will not be defending their crown. Instead Morkov/Pedersen (Denmark) will be the team. Current world champions are van Schip/Havik (Netherlands) having been European champions in 2021. The winners in the two editions since have been Kluge/Reinhardt (Germany) but after winning world titles in 2018 and 2019 before bronze in 2020 they haven’t performed on the world stage to that level since. Torres/Moyà (Spain) were also European champions, back in 2020 but recent results suggest they probably aren’t competing for the podium. Leitao/Oliveira (Portugal) were also European medalists, winning bronze in 2021 and also won a Nations Cup event in 2023 in Milton. Stewart/Gate (New Zealand) started 2024 by winning the Nations Cup events in Adelaide and Hong Kong. They are also former World Championship medalists winning silver in 2021 and bronze in 2023. Hayter/Wood (Great Britain) is a pairing of argubaly the two best British indiviudals. The British team always tends to be competitive, whatever pair competes and this pai won silver at the 2023 World Championship. Ghys/De Vylder (Belgium) came fourth in the 2023 World Championship and also won the Nations Cup event in Milton in 2024. Boudat/Thomas (France) were Nations Cup winners in 2022 and also have strong from in other pairings. Italy are always dark horses and Consonni/Viviani (Italy) were European Championship silver medalists in 2023.
As always this promises to be a fascinating race and it is hard to narrow it down to even a small number of medal contenders as all the aforementioned can medal if luck goes their way. Forced to pick, I would narrow it down to Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain and New Zealand. The German team has been so consistently strong over recent years and with a team solely focused on this race as neither of the pairing enters the omnium, they are my pick. Behind them, I see New Zealand, who have been the form pair of 2024. I think Great Britain edges France into the bronze medal position based on how consistently they medal in the biggest events.
🥇Roger Kluge/Theo Reinhardt 🇩🇪
🥈Campbell Stewart/Aaron Gate 🇳🇿
🥉Ethan Hayter/Oiver Wood 🇬🇧
Men’s Omnium
Benjamin Thomas (France) is one of the first names you have to mention given his general consistency in a tough event to be consistent and the fact that he races in front of a home crowd. He was a double world champion in 2017 and 2020 and won silver on three separate occasions in 2019, 2022 and 2023. At the Tokyo Olympics, he finished fourth due to a poor points race. A man who often acts as a chaos agent, especially in the points race is Ella Viviani (Italy). The 2016 Olympic champion won bronze in Tokyo and he most recently won a World Championship bronze in 2021. The current world champion is Iuri Leitao (Portugal) who sprung a bit of a surprise in 2023. The other medalist was Shunsuke Imamura (Japan) who improved on his sixth from 2022. Denmark has a strong range of options but Niklas Larsen (Denmark) looks like the number one. He came fifth in Tokyo and has finished fourth at the last two World Championships. The team with arguably the most strong options is Great Britain. Britain has had a rider medal on each of the three occasions this has been competed. Ethan Hayter (Great Britain) is the reigning European champion and the World Champion in both 2021 and 2022. Aaron Gate (New Zealand) won silver in 2021 and bronze in 2022 but will be a feared competitor and showed strong form when winning the Nations Cup event in Hong Kong earlier in the year. Sebastien Mora (Spain) has become the Spanish number one after coming third in the 2022 European Championship. Fabio Van den Bossche (Belgium) is another European Championship medalist. He won silver in 2021 and bronze in 2024. Tim Torn Teutenberg (Germany) is another strong European rider but doesn’t have any medals to show for it. He came fifth in the 2022 World Championship.
Even if he doesn’t win a medal expect Viviani to be involved in the racing. He is often the spark plug for excitement in these competitions. Thomas has so often been involved in the business end of these but has yet to get over the top, can he in front of a home crowd? The other two most likely contenders for me are Gate who looks in strong form this year and Hayter who always seems to be at his best in big tournaments. I think the medals go amongst those four and Viviani is the likeliest to miss out despite what will no doubt be a brave attempt in the points race.
🥇Aaron Gate 🇳🇿
🥈Ethan Hayter 🇬🇧
🥉Benjamin Thomas 🇫🇷
Women’s Sprint
The young cyclists are dominating this event. Emma Finucane (Great Britain) will only be 21 but is the current world champion. She was imperious in London but it was her first major title in front of a home crowd, can she repeat that performance? The 2022 world champion was also roared on by a home crowd and will be at the Olympics. That was Mathilde Gros (France) who was eliminated in the quarter-finals in the two World Championships either side of that. She is a consistent medalist at the European Championships and pulls several faces at the start line. Emma Hinze (Germany) is known for her intense stare. She was world champion in 2020 and 2021 but could only finish fourth at the Olympics, the same finish she achieved at the 2023 World Championship. Compatriot Lea Friedrich (Germany) has won silver at the last three World Championships and won the European title in 2023. Kelsey Mitchell (Canada) is the reigning Olympic champion and came third in the 2022 World Championships. She won silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games where she lost to Ellesse Andrews (New Zealand). Andrews is the reigning World Championship bronze medalist, improving from making the quarter-finals in 2022. Sophie Capewell (Great Britain) has reached the quarter-finals at the last two World Championships. Martha Bayona (Colombia) is the current Pan-American Games winner and has finished on the podium in Nations Cup events. As has Mina Sato (Japan) who won silver in Adelaide in 2024 as well as winning the 2023 Asian Games.
Finucane has earned her position as favourite. She seems to hardly lose these days and is still on the up. Behind her are so many capable names. I think the quarter-finals will also have Andrews, Capewell, Friedrich, Gros, Hinze, Mitchell and Sato. The semi-finals come down to Finucane, Gros and the Germans but it wouldn’t shock me if Mitchell makes it. As always, the draw and route to the final is key. I don’t see Finucane losing. Gros will medal with the home support and I think Friedrich at this point is the stronger of the German pair.
🥇Emma Finucane 🇬🇧
🥈Mathilde Gros 🇫🇷
🥉Lea Friedrich 🇩🇪
Women’s Team Sprint
Germany should enter this competition as hot favourites. They have won five of the last six World Championships and were second in the Tokyo Olympics. They arguably have three of the top ten sprinters in this competition with Emma Hinze, Lea Friedrich and Pauline Grabosch. China are the reigning Olympic champions and the 2023 World Championship bronze medalists having won silver in 2022. Both China and Germany have medalled at every version of this event. Great Britain have won bronze medals at the 2021 and 2022 World Championships and improved to silver in 2023. The Netherlands have finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics and the two previous World Championships. Mexico were fourth way back in 2019 but did win a Nations Cup event in Milton last year and is the reigning Pan-American Games winners. Canada were behind them in second in Milton and has made the quarter-final stage of the last three World Championships. They were beaten in the Commonwealth Games final by New Zealand. Poland have also made the last three World Championship quarter-finals as well as winning European Championship bronze in 2022.
Germany have been the favourites here for a while but Great Britain have shown top form this year and the ability to beat anyone. Behind them, China and the Netherlands seem most likely whilst Canada have the big names who can put together a run if they hit form at the right time. China have been strong for so long that I have to expect them to get the medal.
🥇Germany 🇩🇪
🥈Great Britain 🇬🇧
🥉China 🇨🇳
Women’s Keirin
Shanne Braspennincx is the reigning Olympic champion but retired earlier in the year. Ellesse Andrews (New Zealand) is the reigning World Champion, having finished second in the Olympics. Prior to that, Lea Friedrich(Germany) was the double world champion. She could only finish third in 2023 but is also the reigning triple European champion. Compatriot Emma Hinze (Germany) is a danger, having been World Champion in 2020 and she won the Olympic B final in Tokyo. Nicky Degrendele (Belgium) is also a former world champion, having taken that title in 2018. She came fifth in the 2023 World Championships, returning towards her best form. Martha Bayona(Colombia) has silver medals from the 2017 and 2023 World Championships and has been dangerous in many Nations Cup events. Kelsey Mitchell (Canada) won the 2022 Nations Cup event in Milton. Mina Sato (Japan) won the 2023 events in Jakarta and Cairo. She also has silver medals at the 2021 and 2022 World Championships.Mathilde Gros (France) will carry the hopes of the French supporters. Despite being a double European champion in 2018 and 2019, her best result at the World Championships was her fourth in 2022. Steffie Van der Peet(Netherlands) was the bronze medalist ahead of her. Compatriot Hetty van de Wouw (Netherlands) was a European bronze medalist in 2024 and came fourth in the 2023 World Championship. Lauriane Genest (Canada) is an Olympic bronze medalist from Tokyo and after a break returned to take bronze in the 2024 Nations Cup event in Adelaide. She was behind Katy Marchant (Great Britain) who took silver.
This is another competitive renewal and again shocks are more likely in a Keirin. However, Friedrich has been so dominant in this event that I see her getting that Olympic gold. My prediction for the rest of the final is Andrews, Bayona, Finucane, Sato and van de Wouw. Both Finucane and Sato have shown great form this year and Sato’s big race record speaks for itself.
🥇Lea Friedrich 🇩🇪
🥈Mina Sato 🇯🇵
🥉Emma Finucane 🇬🇧
Women’s Team Pursuit
At the only three previous renewals of the team pursuit event, Great Britain and the United States have both finished on the podium. Great Britain were 2nd in Tokyo, where they also finished at the 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022 World Championships. In 2021, they only took bronze but improved to gold in 2023. The United States won the world titles in 2017, 2018 and 2020 as well as the Tokyo Olympic bronze, but the form has not been anywhere near as impressive since. Germany are the reigning Olympic champions and were also world champions in 2021. Since then, they have only managed to make the quarter-finals though. Canada are the only other country to have medalled in the Olympics and were fourth in Tokyo. At the last two World Championships, they were eliminated at the quarter-final stage. France did win a Nations Cup event in 2023, in Cairo and have won bronze at the last two World Championships. They beat Italy into fourth in the most recent edition. They were silver medalists in 2021 and have been European silver medalists at five of the last six competitions. Ireland won a European Championship bronze in 2021 and finished second in the 2024 Nations Cup event in Hong Kong. They were beaten by New Zealand who also won in 2024 in Adelaide. They were World Championship silver medalists in 2023 after winning bronze in 2017 and 2019. Australia beat them in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and were 2019 world champions. They came fourth in the 2022 World Championships. Japan were the 2023 Asian Games winners.
It should be another battle to reach the semi-finals between the big European teams and New Zealand. The form of the New Zealand team in 2024 will be enough to worry the stronger teams and I actually think it comes down to a battle between them and Great Britain. They already have a win over Great Britain in a final this year and I edge favouritism to them. Behind that, I think Italy should be capable of edging Germany to take the bronze medal.
🥇New Zealand 🇳🇿
🥈Great Britain 🇬🇧
🥉Italy 🇮🇹
Women’s Madison
Great Britain won the inaugural running of this event in Tokyo, in one of the most impressive examples of madison riding and are current world champions. They have a number of successful partnerships that would have a chance at a medal. Barker/Evans (Great Britain) were the 2023 World Champions and have experience success in other paings. France have also experienced similar success with different riders. Copponi/Fortin (France) came second in the 2022 World Championship and won the 2023 Nations Cup in Cairo. Dideriksen/Norman-Leth(Denmark) won the 2023 Nations Cup event in Jakarta. They were also Olympic silver medalists in Tokyo and won the bronze at the 2019 and 2022 World Championships. Kopecky/De Clerq (Belgium) were runners up at the 2024 European Championship and Kopecky has been a feature of numerous strong teams. Baker/Manly (Australia) have improved over the last three World Championships from sixth to fourth to second. Pikulik/Pikulik (Poland) have also been improving their results at each World Championship, finishing fourth in 2023. Italy are another country who have had numerous partnerships. It will be Guazzini/Balsamo (Italy) who won the European Championship in 2020 and have won bronze at the last two European Championships. Kakita/Uchino (Japan) won the 2023 Asian Games and a 2024 Nations Cup event in Hong Kong. Williams/Valente (United States) have come third twice this year in Nations Cup events. Wollaston/Botha (New Zealand) don’t have strong results to show yet but are a fearsome pair of strong riders.
The British pair is strong and I think they have a massive chance. They will be competing with Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Japan and New Zealand but again this does remain open. I think the consistent improvement of Australia makes me favour them here. They will finish ahead of the British pair with Denmark just beating out the French pair.
🥇Georgia Baker/Alexandra Manly 🇦🇺
🥈Elinor Barker/Neah Evans 🇬🇧
🥉Amelie Dideriksen/Julie Norman-Leth 🇩🇰
Women’s Omnium
The United States has medalled every time this event has been contested in the Olympics and has the defending champion in Jennifer Valente (United States). She’s also the current double-world champion. Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) is a dual-purpose star who is always competitive in the endurance events and won bronze at the 2023 World Championship after her silver in 2021. She missed out on challenging at the Tokyo Olympics after a big crash saw her not finish. The other medalist from 2023 was Amalie Dideriksen (Denmark) winning silver for the second time in her career after 2018. She was the unlucky fourth in the Tokyo Olympics. Ahead of her, winning silver in Tokyo was Yumi Kajihara (Japan), who was the world champion in 2020. Ally Wollaston (New Zealand) will be one of the younger riders in this event and looks like an exciting prospect. She won two Nations Cup events in 2023 and led the World Championships before falling back to finish sixth. Maria Martins (Portugal) won bronze in the 2022 World Championships and has Olympic experience, finishing seventh in Tokyo. The other rider to not finish in Tokyo after the big crash was Daria Pikulik (Poland). She has a World Championship bronze from 2020 and two European medals. As does Elisa Balsamo (Italy) who was the European champion in 2020. She also won a Nations Cup event in 2022 in Milton. Anita Stenberg (Norway) is the current European champion with Clara Copponi (France) having a silver medal from 2022. Neah Evans (Great Britain) won silver in 2024 and will be hoping to make amends for Katie Archibald missing out. Maike van der Duin (Netherlands) has a silver medal from the 2022 World Championship, with Maggie Coles-Lyster (Canada) back in fourth. Lara Gillespie (Ireland) has shown the ability to compete with the best on top of her form.
It is a shame for British fans that Archibald will not be here.Valente has shown her ability with her results but she doesn’t strike me as someone who necessarily has the most coveted sprint set here. Kopecky does, but has a busy schedule at the Olympics Outside of that duo, I think it is worth looking mainly at Kajihara, Stenberg and Wollaston. Wollaston has shown great form this year and I think she can get a bit of a shock victory.
🥇Ally Wollaston 🇳🇿
🥈Yumi Kajihara 🇯🇵
🥉Jennifer Valente 🇺🇸
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