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Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including
road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional sport, professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and ...
, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing,
track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it ...
,
BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...
, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling sports include artistic cycling, cycle polo, freestyle BMX and mountain bike trials. The (UCI) is the world governing body for cycling and international competitive cycling events. The International Human Powered Vehicle Association is the governing body for human-powered vehicles that imposes far fewer restrictions on their design than does the UCI. Th
UltraMarathon Cycling Association
is the governing body for many ultra-distance cycling races. Bicycle racing is recognised as an Olympic sport. Bicycle races are popular all over the world, especially in Europe. The countries most devoted to bicycle racing include Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. Other countries with international standing include Australia, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, United States and Colombia.


History

The first bicycle race is popularly held to have been a race on the 31 May 1868 at the Parc de ,
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
, France. It was won by expatriate Englishman James Moore who rode a wooden bicycle with solid rubber tires. The machine is now on display at the museum in Ely,
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
, England. The was founded on 14 April 1900 by Belgium, the United States, France, Italy, and Switzerland to replace the
International Cycling Association The International Cycling Association (ICA) was the first international body for cycle racing. Founded by Henry Sturmey in 1892 to establish a common definition of amateurism and to organise world championships its role was taken over by the Unio ...
, which had been formed in 1892, over a row with Great Britain as well as because of other issues. Since the rise of the Olympic Movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics, cycling has been a contestant event in every
Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
.


Racing


Road bicycle

Road bicycle racing involve both team and individual competition, and races are contested in various ways. They range from the one-day road race, criterium, and time trial to multi-stage events like the and its sister events which make up cycling's Grand Tours. The races typically take place from spring through to autumn. Many riders from the Northern Hemisphere spend the winter in countries such as Australia to compete or train. Professional races range from the three-week "Grand Tour" stage races such as the , and the to multi-day stage races such as the Tour de Suisse and Tour of California, to single day "Classics" such as the Tour of Flanders and
Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is t ...
. The longest one-day road race sanctioned by USA Cycling is Lotoja which covers the from
Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 census recorded the population was 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Cache County and Franklin ...
to Jackson, Wyoming. Criteriums are races based on circuits typically less than a mile in length and sometimes run for a set time (60 min, 90 min, etc.) rather than a specific distance. Criteriums are the most popular form of road racing in North America. In Belgium, kermesses are popular, single-day events of usually over . As well as road races in which all riders start simultaneously, individual time trial and
team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ( ...
events are also held on road-based courses.


Track cycling

Track cycling has been around since as early as 1870. The riders competed on wooden indoor tracks that closely resembled the modern velodromes of today. Unlike road racing, which is dependent on environmental factors, indoor tracks ensure the sport can be competed all year round. It encompasses races that take place on banked tracks or
velodromes A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement c ...
. Events are quite diverse and can range from
individual An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own nee ...
and team pursuits, two-man sprints, to various group and mass start races. Competitors use track bicycles which do not have brakes or freewheels.


Cyclo-cross

Cyclo-cross originated as a sport for road racers during the off season, to vary their training during the cold months. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter (the international or World Cup season is September–January) and consist of many laps of a course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills, and obstacles requiring the rider to dismount, carry the bike and remount in one motion. Races for senior categories are generally between 30 minutes and an hour long, the distance varying depending on the conditions. The sport is strongest in traditional road cycling countries such as Belgium (Flanders in particular) and France.


Mountain bike

Mountain bike races are held off-road and involve moderate to high degree of technical riding. There are several varieties; the main categories are cross-country, enduro and downhill but also 4X or four-cross racing.


BMX

BMX takes place off-road. BMX races are sprints on purpose-built off-road single-lap tracks, typically on single-gear bicycles. Riders navigate a dirt course of jumps and banked and flat corners.


Cycle speedway

Cycle speedway is bicycle racing on short outdoor dirt tracks, in length.


Motor-paced racing

Motor-paced racing and keirin use motorcycles for pacing, so cyclists achieve higher speeds.


Gravel racing

Gravel racing is one of the newest disciplines of bicycle racing, emerging in the 21st century. For example, one of the premiere gravel races, Unbound Gravel, started in 2006. Some precursors to gravel racing in its current form include road races like the Tour of the Battenkill and Boulder-Roubaix (named after Paris–Roubaix) which are road races with gravel sections. The distinguishing features of gravel racing include long distances, often , and mass starts that include all categories of racers, similar to Gran Fondo rides. The bicycles and courses in gravel racing vary widely, from road bicycles with wide tires used on smooth gravel roads to bicycles that are similar to mountain bike used on courses that include technical trails.


Average speeds

Speeds achieved on indoor tracks are usually greater than those on roads. Other factors affecting speed are the route profile (flats and hills), wind conditions, temperatures and elevation. At a 2013 event in Mexico,
François Pervis François "Franck" Pervis (born 16 October 1984) is a French track cyclist. He is a former junior world champion in the team sprint and twice European under 23 champion, as well as a seven-time world champion and a holder of two world records. In ...
achieved an average of with a flying start over . The top average speed over the men's time trial at the 2004 Summer Olympics was recorded by Chris Hoy. Average speeds clearly drop with increasing distance, so that over the Cootamundra Annual Classic it is . In the
2010 Paris–Roubaix The 2010 Paris–Roubaix was the 108th running of the Paris–Roubaix single-day cycling race, often known as the ''Hell of the North''. It was held on 11 April 2010 over a distance of and was the ninth event in the inaugural UCI World Ranking ser ...
, Fabian Cancellara set a speed of , while over the Furnace Creek 508, the speed drops dramatically to . For an extreme road distance such as the Race Across America, the average speed of the record holder is , while the Freedom Trail over mountainous terrain in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
is at a record speed of .


Mountain bike trials

Mountain bike trials is a sport where riders navigate natural and human-made obstacles without putting down their foot, or "dabbing". It is similar to motorcycle trials. Points are awarded for bike handling skills. The first UCI Trials World Championships took place in 1986.


Non-racing disciplines


Freestyle BMX

Freestyle BMX is an extreme sport of stunt riding BMX bikes.


Artistic cycling

Artistic cycling is a discipline where athletes perform tricks (called exercises) in a format similar to ballet or gymnastics.


See also


References


External links


cycling shoes

Cycling on International Paralympic Committee website
{{Authority control Summer Olympic sports Athletic sports