The cycling events at the Olympics are always exciting with both men’s and women’s road races and time trials. The men’s road race consisted of a 49 mile one way segment followed by 7 laps on a 15 mile circuit for a total of 152 miles, or 245 km. The route went through Beijing, by the forbidden city, and outside the city limits to the nearby mountains. Included was a respectable climb that allowed breakaways to form and keep away from the main pack; giving the riders a challenge as they raced for nearly six and a half hours. The women had a similar route, but rather than 7 laps, they completed 2 for a total of 78.3 miles, or 126 km.

Samuel Sanchez of Spain won the men’s road race in a fantastic final sprint to the finish. In the women’s race, Great Britain’s Nicole Cooke won after long day of heavy rainfall.

Kristin Armstrong from the United States won the the women’s time trial with a time of 34:51.72 over a 23.5 km course. Where Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland won the 47.3 km time trial with a time of 1:02:11.43, for an average speed of around 28.3 mph.