Men's Road Race Route for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games(Image credit: UCI)
The profile for the men's 2020 Olympic Road Race(Image credit: UCI)
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Greg Van Avermaet atop his new race bike recognising his Olympic road race win (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tokyo 2020 have announced three waves of test events that will take place over the next year ahead of the summer Olympic Games. Cycling test events will be held for men's road cycling on July 21, mountain biking on October 6, BMX from October 12-13, and track cycling in April 2020.
The Olympic test events in other sports have already begun with sailing and water polo, according to Inside The Games, but the organising committee has scheduled the rest to take place over the next year and half. The first wave will be for outdoor events, including men's road cycling, and events will take place from June to September 2019. The second wave of events will go from October 2019 to February 2020, and the final wave will take place between March and May 2020.
The men's road race test event will start in Musashinonomori Park and finish on the Mt. Fuji International Speedway, but will be reduced from its official 2020 distance of 234km, instead covering only 179km, but including an elevation gain of 3,700 metres and passing over the Olympic route's decisive climbs: Doshi Road, Kagosaka Pass and Mikuni Pass, and Kagosaka Pass for a second time. The test event will not include the Mt. Fuji circuit and the decisive Fuji Toll Rd.
The official Tokyo 2020 website didn't list a test event for the women's race. However, the men's test event route covers the main aspects of the women's route. There were mixed reactions after the routes were announced in August, with the women's route considered a watered-down version of the men's route. The women's road race will be 130km and include only two climbs – Doushi Road and Kagosaka Pass – before also finishing on the Mt. Fuji International Speedway.
The men's test event will be classed as a 1.2 event, and there'll be up to 24 teams that are composed of five riders per team. Entries of national teams will be prioritised.
The mountain bike test event will be held at the Izu mountain bike course and the BMX events will be at the Aomi Urban Sports Park. Track events will be held at the Izu velodrome.
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