The Olympic Track Cycling programme begins at the Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines Velodrome on Monday August 5 so check out Nathan Jackson's in-depth preview and tips.
Olympics betting tips: Cycling
3pt Italy to Win Men’s Team Pursuit at 2/1 (Betfred/Ladbrokes/Coral)
2pts Ellseese Andrews (NZL) to Win Women’s Keirin 9/1 (Unibet)
1pt Dyaln Bibic (CAN) to Win Men’s Omnium 13/2 (Boylesport/Unibet/Sky Bet)
Italians to defend team pursuit crown
The Italian quartet of Filippo Ganna, Jonathan Milan, Simone Consonni and Francesco Lamon look to defend their Olympic Team Pursuit gold medal. This combination of riders broke the world record three times at the last Games on their way to securing the title in emphatic fashion.
Filippo Ganna looks to be in good order after finishing second in the Individual Time Trial last Saturday, finishing 15 seconds behind Belgian star Remco Evenepoel. Meanwhile the first half of Jonathan Milan’s road season was mightily impressive. The Lidl-Trek rider won three sprint stages and finished runners-up on another three occasions at this year’s Giro d’Italia before switching his focus to the track.
With the vastly experienced Lamon and Consonni and the two powerhouses in Ganna and Milan who can make the difference again, the Azzurri world record holders look strong contenders once again to defend their Team Pursuit crown.
Kiwi for Keirin victory
Ellesse Andrews is the rider to follow in the women’s Keirin. The current world champion was a silver medallist in this discipline on her Olympic debut at Tokyo and has the experience now to go one better.
The 24-year-old New Zealander earned second and fourth places finishes at the 2022 and 2023 World Cups respectively before becoming world champion at Glasgow in 2023.
The 2023 UCI Track Champions League series brought more success for Andrews as she became sprint champion by beating current market leaders Emma Finucane of Britain and Colombia's Martha Bayona. When last seen at the World Cup in Canada in April, she also won the Keirin event against all the rivals she will face in the Olympics apart from the German duo Emma Hinze and Lea Sophie Friedrich plus Finucane.
With the two German representatives easily opposable in this discipline and Finucane lacking Olympic experience, Andrews can go one better than the silver medal in Tokyo and I see the 9/1 as good value.
Bibic to deliver Canadian success
Dylan Bibic is looking for Olympic success at the first time of asking in the Omnium and has already shown that he is more than capable of doing so.
The 20-year-old Canadian has good form at the Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines Velodrome having won both the Elimination Race and Strach Race here in Round 3 of the UCI Track Champions League on his way to becoming the Endurance Champion.
This year he won both Elimination Races in the World Cup at Adeliade and Milton in Canada, where he also took overall victory in the Omnium. With the evident good form in the Elimination Race - which he could well take maximum points from - Bibic should be thereabouts for a medal and can sneak onto the top of the podium.
