December 6, 2007 – The number of places allocated to different National Olympic Committees for the Olympic road events (road race and time trial) in the Elite Men’s category was finalized by the UCI on October 26th.

A comparison of statistics relating to the 2004 Olympic Games (Athens) and the 2008 Olympic Games (Beijing) shows the following results:

In 2008, 55 nations (145 riders) will take part in the Olympic road cycling events, compared with 42 in 2004. This means that the number of nations reaching the necessary level to participate in the Games has jumped by more than 30%.

The 13 additional countries appearing on the Olympic (road) stage in 2008 are: Algeria, Argentina, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, El Salvador, Korea, Libya, Lithuania, Mexico, Namibia and Tunisia.

There is a marked increase in the number of countries representing Africa, America and Asia. These three continents enjoy an increase from one to five nations, 6 to 11 nations and 5 to 7 nations respectively. Not surprisingly, Oceania remains stable with two countries (Australia and New Zealand). Europe also progresses, with 30 nations participating in 2008 compared with 28 in 2004. Europe easily remains the continent sending the biggest delegation to the Olympic Games.

These figures are proof of the internationalization of cycling and the progress of this sport in non European countries. This positive development is a result of the road cycling reform introduced by the UCI in 2005, with the creation of the UCI Continental Circuits and the UCI ProTour.