Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's individual road race

The men's individual road race event at the 2020 Summer Olympics is scheduled to take place on 24 July 2021 on a course starting as Musashinonomori Park and ending at the Fuji International Speedway in Tokyo.[1] 130 athletes from 57 nations are expected to compete.[2]

Men's individual road race at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Olympic Cycling
Venues	Musashinonomori Park Fuji International Speedway
Date	24 July 2021
Competitors	130 from 57 nations

Background

This will be the 21st appearance of the event, previously held in 1896 and then at every Summer Olympics since 1936. It replaced the individual time trial event that had been held from 1912 to 1932; the time trial had been re-introduced in 1996 alongside the road race.

Qualification

A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter up to 5 qualified cyclists in the men's individual road race. All quota places are assigned to the NOC, which may select the cyclists that compete. There were 130 total quota spots available for the race. Of those, 122 were assigned through the UCI world ranking by nations. This ranking included Elite and U-23 men's races for the 2019 season (22 October 2018 to 22 October 2019). The top six nations received the maximum, 5 quota places: Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Colombia, and Spain. Nations ranked 7th through 13th received 4 quota places, 14th through 21st received 3 quota places, 22nd through 32nd received 2 quota places, and 33rd through 50th received 1 quota places. A special rule provided an opportunity for individuals ranked in the top 200 but whose nation was not in the top 50 to earn places (which would replace the lowest ranked nations), but no individuals were in that situation. The next 6 quota places were assigned through the 2019 African, Asian, and Pan-American championships; the two nations at each championship with the highest placed road race cyclist earned spots, but nations which already had at least one quota place were not eligible. The final 2 quota places were reserved for the host nation; if the host nation had already earned one or two places, they would be reallocated through the UCI world rankings. In this case, Japan had earned 1 quota place through standard qualification, so received only 1 of the host places while the other was reallocated to world ranked #51 Hong Kong.[2] Because qualification was complete by 22 October 2019, it was unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Competition format and course

The road race is a mass-start, one-day road race event. The courses for the men's and women's road races were revealed in August 2018. The races will start in Musashinonomori Park in Chofu, western Tokyo with the finish at the Fuji Speedway circuit in the Shizuoka prefecture. The men's road race will be 234 kilometres long with a total elevation of 4865 metres.[3]

The first part of the men's and women's races is identical. The course will first pass through the mostly flat outskirts of Tokyo's metropolitan area. After 80 kilometres there will be a long climb on Doushi Road with a total elevation of 1000 metres. After reaching Lake Yamanakako in Yamanashi and crossing the Kagosaka Pass there will be a fast 15 kilometres descent. From here the courses are different for men and women.

After the descent, the men's race will head towards the lower slopes of Mount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain, where they will go up a 14.3 kilometres long climb with a 6.0% average incline. The riders will then head to the Fuji Speedway section, where they will cross the finish line twice before entering the last part of the race, which includes the Mikuni Pass peak at about 30 kilometres to go. This climb is 6.8 kilometres at a height of 1159 metres with an average incline of 10.2% including sections reaching 20%. After the climb, the race will return to Lake Yamanakako and the Kagosaka Pass before finishing on the Fuji Speedway circuit.

Schedule

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Date	Time	Round
Saturday, 24 July 2021	11:00	Final

References

1. "Cycling Competition Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
2. "Qualification System – Games of the XXXII Olympiad – Road Cycling" (PDF). UCI. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
3. "Tokyo 2020 unveil cycling road races courses for Olympic Games". Insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 3 January 2019.