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Great Britain has qualified a full track cycling squad for the Paris Olympics this summer.
The final qualification rankings were confirmed on Tuesday by the UCI, with GB meeting the quota criteria in every event.
As a result, 14 British riders, seven per gender, will travel to Paris, France in August to compete at the Games. The squad will also be allowed to pull in one male and one female athlete from another cycling discipline, such as road, mountain bike or BMX, meaning up to 16 athletes will ride on the track.
It is the first time GB will be present in every track event since London 2012, having failed to meet the qualification requirements for the women’s team sprint at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
With no more major track competitions remaining before the Olympics, the GB coaches will now select the riders to compete in Paris. The full squad, containing additional reserve riders, is expected to be announced near the end of June.
There are six track cycling medal events at the Olympics for both the men and women: three sprint events (team sprint, individual sprint and keirin) and three endurance events (team pursuit, Madison and Omnium).
The qualification criteria drew on points gathered at the 2023 UCI Track World Championships, the last two Continental Championships, and the best two results from UCI Nations Cup rounds in 2023 and 2024.
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To qualify in the sprint events, GB had to rank in the top eight countries in the team sprint. The women’s squad, who won the opening two Nations Cup rounds this year, qualified second, behind the world champions Germany. The men’s squad qualified fifth.
Two of the three team sprint riders in each gender will be selected for the individual sprint and keirin.
The men’s team pursuit squad won the European title in January.
(Image credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)
In the endurance events, GB had to qualify among the top 10 countries in the team pursuit, granting them places in the Madison and Omnium as well.
The men’s team pursuit squad, having crashed out of last year’s World Championships, qualified seventh, thanks to gold medals at the European Championships and two of this year’s Nations Cups. The women’s team pursuit squad had a more assured qualifying period, ranking second overall, behind New Zealand.
The UCI will now confirm the final quota places in writing to each of the countries. The full Olympic track rankings can be found on the governing body’s website.
The track cycling events at the Paris Olympics will take place between 5-11 August at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome, southwest of the city.
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