The road race is one of two

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

events held at the

Summer Olympics 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 ina ...

, the other being the

time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

. The road race is a mass start, distinguished from the separate starts of the time trial. The men's road race was first held at the

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

, was not held again for 40 years, then has been held every Summer Games since the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-s ...

. The women's event was first contested at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

, being the first women's cycling event (track events were added in 1988). A team event, with the results of the individual event being used to place the teams, was held from 1936 to 1956 (4 times).

Medalists

Men

Multiple medalists

Medalists by country

Women

Multiple medallists

Medallists by country

Men's team

A men's team event was held for four Games—1936, 1948, 1952, and 1956. It was not a separate competition, but an event that involved the results of the individual road race. The Belgian team, winners in 1948, were unaware that there was a team competition and left London without receiving their medals. For the first three editions of the event, the times of the fastest three cyclists (out of a maximum four individual competitors) for each nation were summed. In the final edition in 1956, a point-for-place system was used instead. In 1936 and 1948, only the top three cyclists for each team were awarded medals. In 1952 and 1956, all members of the team—including the cyclist whose score did not count—were medalists.

Medalists by country

Intercalated Games

The

1906 Intercalated Games The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Gam ...

were held in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

and at the time were officially recognised as part of the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

series, with the intention being to hold a games in Greece in two-year intervals between the internationally held Olympics. However, this plan never came to fruition and the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

(IOC) later decided not to recognise these games as part of the official Olympic series. Some sports historians continue to treat the results of these games as part of the Olympic canon.1906 Athina Summer Games
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 26 January 2014. Fernand Vast won the 1906 title, with France sweeping the medals as Maurice Bardonneau finished second and Edmond Luguet third.

References

{{Cycling at the Summer Olympics Road race