The start of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games is only days away, with the cycling action taking place across the Summer Games, from 28 June to 11 August. There has been cycling at the Olympics since 1896, when there were road and track cycling events. Mountain biking was added in the 1990s and BMX racing began in 2008, with freestyle BMX appearing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.From road racing to BMX, here is our guide to all of the bike events at Paris 2024.Cycling at the 2024 Paris Olympics scheduleThe cycling schedule for the Paris Olympics runs throughout the Games. - Our MediaCycling at the Olympics Road RaceExpect sharp hills and cobbles on the Road Race routes. - Dario Belingheri / Getty ImagesMens Road Race: Sat 3 AugWomens Road Race: Sun 4 AugThe wildly unpredictable mens Road Race takes place only 13 days after the end of the Tour de France, meaning some riders will have hit peak form and others will be broken by fatigue. Only two things are certain. First, there will be a new Olympic champion, because Tokyo 2020 winner Richard Carapaz has not been selected by Ecuador, with Jhonatan Narvez taking their lone spot.Second, at 273km, this will be the longest ever Olympic Road Race.Similar to the 270.8km Tour of Flanders this year, it promises to be a punchy, Classics-style affair.After leaving the Trocadro, riders will venture through the undulating le-de-France region, taking on slopes such as the Cte de Chteaufort (900m at 5.7%), which has a memorial to Jacques Anquetil.They will then return to Paris for three laps of an 18.4km circuit with technical bends and the cobbled climb of the Butte Montmartre (1km at 6.5%), before a 230m sprint finish towards the Trocadro.I lived on the Butte Montmartre, so I know every cobble and there are some sketchy, steep roads, says cycling commentator Carlton Kirby, author of Magic Spanner, about life behind the scenes at the worlds biggest cycling races..In front of the Sacr-Coeur basilica, there is a tumbling staircase. Montmartre means Martyrs Mount and if you wanted redemption you had to crawl up the mount.So this is an extreme and steep course. There will be elbows, luck, teammates not functioning, weather issues rain on cobbles is a nightmare. It could be the greatest finale weve ever seen.With 2,800m of climbing and 13 ascents, the route will favour strong Classics riders including Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands), Tadej Pogaar (Slovenia) and Mads Pedersen (Denmark).It will be full of French Julian Alaphilippe fans, adds Kirby. It suits him perfectly.But how does Belgium pick four riders? And who will be the boss? You might get team riders attacking each other. Van der Poel is favourite.Remco Evenepoel will be a contender for both Road and TT gold. - Dean Mouhtaropoulos / Getty ImagesRemco Evenepoel is a loose cannon. You cant ignore Pogaar. There are some phenomenal battles and an awful lot of needle.Stephen Park expects a gritty race. It will be a war of attrition, so it will be six to seven hours on the bike and full-gas from the off, he insists.With even the biggest teams having only four riders, it is hard to ride as a team for a race of this nature, so we will see attacks from the start gun.The womens road race is 158km and packs in 1,700m of climbing, with nine ascents and two laps of the finishing circuit.The route has the same start and chaotic finish as the mens race, either side of a dash through the Valle de Chevreuse.Medal favourites include Lorena Wiebes of the Netherlands and Belgiums world road race champion Lotte Kopecky.Lorena Wiebes has enjoyed a fine 2024 season, with wins galore. - Matt McNulty / Getty ImagesThe womens event will be a real distillation of talent, insists Kirby. Wiebes looks monstrously good."Some are compromised between the track and the road, especially the Italian riders Elisa Balsamo and Marta Cavalli."But, for Britain, I hope the Bckstedts (Zoe and Elynor) get their chance to shine.Road race routesThe Road Race routes for Paris 2024. - Our MediaTime TrialWorld Time Trial champion Chlo Dygert is a favourite for Olympic gold. - Dario Belingheri / Getty ImagesMen/Women: Sat 27 JulyWith its long straights and crpe-flat terrain (only 150m of ascent), the Paris Time Trial course will celebrate the events primary quality: electrifying speed.This summer, male and female riders will race the clock on the same 32.4km course for the first time.Riders will depart the Esplanade des Invalides, before dashing past iconic cycling locations, including the Vlodrome Jacques Anquetil, the Paris 1924 track cycling venue, and returning via the Place de la Bastille to Pont Alexandre III bridge.Expect this technical, rapid route to appeal to TT purists.Male contenders include 2023 World Time Trial champion Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) and Filippo Ganna (Italy). Probably the most exciting prospect for Britain is Josh Tarling, who won a (bronze) medal at the World Championships in Glasgow, says Park.He is young (20), but continues to hone his craft well. Female prospects include Tokyo silver medallist Marlen Reusser of Switzerland and 2023 world Time Trial champion Chlo Dygert (USA). Zoe Bckstedt (a junior Time Trial world champion) would be great, adds Kirby.Time Trial routeThe Paris Time Trial route. - Our MediaTrack cyclingFilippo Ganna spearheads Italys Pursuit squad. - Sarah Reed / Getty ImagesMon 5 Aug Sun 11 AugA fast and frenzied feature of the Olympics since Athens 1896, track cycling is one of the most exciting spectator sports, serving up outrageous speeds, raw tension and brute force.It helps that Britain is pretty good at it, too, topping the track table again at Tokyo 2020. At the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome, Jack Carlin will be chasing medals in the Sprints, while Dan Bigham will be powering up the mens Team Pursuit squad.Katie Archibald is hunting a hat-trick of Team Pursuit, Omnium and Madison golds.She helped the womens Team Pursuit squad to pip New Zealand and France to the 2023 world title. Emma Finucane won Sprint gold and Neah Evans and Elinor Barker took gold in the Madison.Aero guru Dan Bigham is chasing Olympic gold. - ANP / Getty ImagesThere will be 190 global track cyclists battling it out in Paris. The Australians always bring their A game, and New Zealand and Canada too, warns Kirby.Watch out for Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands), who won double gold in the Individual and Team Sprint at Tokyo 2020, and Kevin Quintero (Colombia), who took gold in the Keirin at the 2023 Worlds.The Team Pursuit is always special, adds Kirby. In Tokyo, the Danes versus the Italians was decided on the final pedal stroke, after Filippo Ganna did a monster turn and nicked it from the Danes in their pomp.New Zealands world Keirin champion Ellesse Andrews will be looking to upgrade her silver from Tokyo 2020, and American Jennifer Valente will hope to defend her Tokyo Omnium gold.Mountain bikingSwitzerlands Jolanda Neff won Olympic gold in Tokyo and is hoping to defend it in Paris. - NurPhoto / Getty ImagesWomens Cross-Country: Sun 28 JulyMens Cross-Country: Mon 29 JulyA fusion of speed, stamina, strength and skill, Cross-Country MTB is the only mountain biking discipline with Olympic status.It sees punchy riders such as Tom Pidcock scrap over laps of a 4.3km course packed with forests, gravel, rocks, jumps and climbs.For mountain bikers, the Olympics is the big one, insists three-time Cross-Country MTB Olympian and commentator Oli Beckingsale (bwcycling.co.uk).If you medal, it is a life-changing experience. I did three Games, starting with Sydney 2000, and its just mind-blowing to be part of that big circus.The Paris course is on the site of an old sandstone quarry at lancourt Hill: at 230m, its the highest point in the Paris region.French rider Loana Lecomte, who won the test event, says it is a beautiful circuit that encourages real mountain biking".Races usually last one to two hours. It is a mass start, with six to seven laps of a circuit with hard climbing and technical elements, explains Beckingsale.Whereas a road race starts steady and builds, this is intense from the start, like a cyclocross race, with everyone jockeying for position.There is a mix of wide and narrow track, so if you are too far back on the narrow track before a technical section, you risk losing time.There is usually a lead group of five to 10 riders and then attacks from that. We will see fast, close racing. We will get seconds, not minutes, between riders, so really full-on.Tom Pidcock is hoping to repeat his Tokyo 2020 gold. Pidcock has punch on climbs, but he is one of the most technically adept riders too, says Beckingsale.A course with a tougher ascent may favour Tom more, admits Park. At the recent World Cup race (in Nov Msto, Czech Republic), he dominated.Competition will come from New Zealander Sam Gaze, Nino Schurter (Switzerland) and Victor Koretzky (France).Britains Evie Richards will be hunting a medal in the womens race. Evie had a concussion recently, but I am confident she will come back strong, says Park.As well as winning the World Championships in 2021, she has been a regular podium visitor at World Cup level.Home favourite Pauline Ferrand-Prvot is chasing a first Olympic gold to add to her glittering career.Other rivals include fellow Frenchwoman Loana Lecomte, and 22-year-old rising star Puck Pieterse of the Netherlands.BMX racing and freestyleCharlotte Worthington will be hoping for another gold medal. - Borja B. Hojas / Getty ImagesBMX Freestyle: Tue 30 Jul Wed 31 JulBMX Racing: Thu 1 Aug Fri 2 AugBMX RacingThis is an explosive, exciting discipline that will leave gravity-grounded road cyclists gawping with delight.The sport is split into BMX racing and BMX freestyle events, with both competitions hosted at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines BMX Stadium.After launching out of a gate on top of an 8m-high start hill, riders race around a 400m track festooned with jumps, banked corners and obstacles.Its similar to road racing, but youre flying in the air, explains BMX rider Jon Taylor, who commentates for the BBC.Riders travel at big speeds of 30mph and clear 30ft jumps. Imagine going down a hill on a road bike and someone pulls out a jump the size of a double-decker bus!BMX Freestyle Freestyle is a hazardous world of stunts, akin to gymnastics on a bike.On a park course, riders perform as many tricks as possible in 60 seconds, scoring points for the complexity of their stunts, height and style.It looks dangerous, but every rider is thinking: how can I ride this course better than everyone else? says Taylor.They will often save the best tricks for the final. Sometimes, they fly backwards on jumps, so they are totally blind until they spot their landing.At Tokyo 2020, Charlotte Worthington stormed to acrobatic gold in the womens freestyle, while Bethany Shriever took gold and Kye Whyte took silver in the BMX racing.To live that experience was phenomenal, recalls Taylor. Charlotte Worthingtons360 backflip was on the cover of every newspaper.The confidence of BMX riders is staggering. Theres a continual challenge to learn new tricks, and that brings to the forefront higher degrees of danger and degrees of mental fortitude, explains Park.Paralympic cycling Frances Dorian Foulon is part of the home nations strong Individual Pursuit team. - Kiyoshi Ota / Getty ImagesTrack: Thu 29 Aug Sun 1 SeptRoad: Wed 4 Sept Sat 7 SeptAt the Paralympics, 220 cyclists compete across 17 track events and 34 road events.Road riders can compete in the Road Race, Time Trial and Relay, while track athletes can take part in Time Trial, Individual Pursuit and Team Sprint races.In road events, youll see bicycles, handcycles, tricycles and tandems, while track events include bicycles and tandems with sighted pilots for visually impaired riders.All events are classified according to athletes disabilities, incorporating conditions such as impaired muscles, amputations, neurological conditions or sight impairments.British serial winner Dame Sarah Storey is the headline act: with 17 golds, across swimming and cycling, Storey, who was born without a functioning left hand, is Britains most successful Paralympian.Other medal hopes include the visually impaired Scottish cyclist Neil Fachie, who won gold in the Tandem 1km Time Trial at London 2012 and Tokyo 2020, and Kadeena Cox, a former runner with MS who won gold in the Time Trial and Mixed Team Sprint at Tokyo 2020.Great Britain is a dominant force in Paralympic cycling. - Dean Mouhtaropoulos / Getty ImagesThe Team Sprint on the track will be exciting, says Park, with Team GB looking to retain their gold from Tokyo.There has been a real battle between Great Britain and China.But theres a good chance well see Jody Cundy, Kadeena and Jaco (van Gass) in that team again, pushing hard. Fin Graham will be strong in the Time Trial.And the Tandem events on the track are massively exciting, especially the Sprints.Park admits there is now a higher degree of competition worldwide.The Netherlands and France were Britains biggest cycling rivals at Tokyo 2020. Home favourite Alexandre Laut, who suffered a stroke at birth and lost 95 per cent of his muscle power on his right side, is looking to better the four track and road medals he won in Tokyo.American athlete Oksana Masters, an amputee who was born in Ukraine and suffered leg damage from in-utero radiation poisoning after the Chernobyl disaster, has won 17 Paralympic medals across multiple sports.And Keiko Sugiura, who has paralysis on the right side of her body, won double gold in the Road Race and Time Trial at Tokyo 2020, aged 50.