About The Sport
Road racing is the form of competitive cycling most analogous to that done by the general public, with riders competing against each other on conventional roads to complete the course in the fastest time possible.
It has been part of the modern Olympics since the inaugural Summer Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. That year, competitors rode for two laps of the marathon route from Athens to Marathon and back - a distance of 87 kilometres.
Now, road races take place over 239km for men and 120km for women, with shorter time trials taking place over 46.8km for men and 31.2km for women.