Paris Olympics: Women's team pursuit preview

The highest profile event of the Olympic Games track cycling is the team pursuit, which women have competed in since 2012. Great Britain won the first two Olympic golds in London and Rio de Janeiro.

Ten nations will race for the medals in the women's team pursuit. The competition begins with a qualifying round with each team trying to set the fastest time toward the first round. However, only the top four teams can compete for the medals.

In the first round, two teams go head to head, starting on opposite sides of the track. The fastest qualifying team faces fourth best, second against third. The winners of these two heats go onto the gold medal final.

There is still hope for a medal if a team lands outside of the top four, however.  The two teams with the fastest time other than the teams making the gold medal round will compete for the bronze medal. 

The other teams compete for the minor placings based upon their first round results. The next two fastest teams will race for fifth and sixth place and the last two teams for seventh and eighth.

Women's Team Pursuit competitors

• Australia: Georgia Baker, Sophie Edwards, Alexandra Manly, Chloe Moran, Maeve Plouffe 
• Canada: Erin Attwell, Ariane Bonhomme, Maggie Coles-Lyster, Sarah van Dam, 
• France: Victoire Berteau, Marion Borras, Clara Copponi, Valentine Fortin, Marie le Net 
• Germany: Franziska Brausse, Lisa Klein, Mieke Kroeger, Laura Süßemilch
• Great Britain: Elinor Barker, Neah Evans, Josie Knight, Anna Morris, Jessica Roberts 
• Ireland: Lara Gillespie, Mia Griffin, Kelly Murphy, Alice Sharpe
• Italy: Elisa Balsamo, Chiara Consonni, Martina Fidanza, Vittoria Guazzini, Letizia Paternoster 
• Japan: Mizuki Ikeda, Yumi Kajihara, Maho Kakita, Tsuyaka Uchino, 
• New Zealand: Bryony Botha, Emily Shearman, Nicole Shields, Ally Wollaston 
• United States: Olivia Cummins, Chloe Dygert, Kristen Faulkner, Jennifer Valente, Lily Williams 

Women's Team Pursuit Contenders

Since their early domination in the team pursuit, Great Britain have had to rebuild since the retirement of motors Laura Trott and Joanna Rowsell. They came second to Germany in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 but returned to the top spot at the World Championships in Glasgow last year.

Germany, who won the last Olympics team pursuit in Tokyo and the World title in 2021 are back in building mode after Lisa Brennauer retired, and haven't had the same level of results at the international level in over a year.

The build up to the Paris Olympics for Great Britain came off the rails a bit when Katie Archibald injured her leg in a freak accident earlier this year. She was key to the team's recent titles but will not be competing in the team pursuit. The British team are still among the favourites, having gone toe-to-toe with their rivals without Archibald in the preliminary round at Worlds.

New Zealand, Italy, France and Australia are the top rivals for Great Britain, but keep an eye on the USA, who have been building a new quartet with incoming power rider Kristin Faulkner.

Women's Team Pursuit schedule

• August 6: Women's Team Pursuit Qualifying - 11:30 CET
• August 7: Women's Team Pursuit First Round - 7:52 CET
• August 7: Women's Team Pursuit Finals - 12:57 CET