The track cycling of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be held LIVE from August 11 to August 16 at the Velodrome located at Barra de Tijuca Olympic Park. There, the Venezuelan team will fight for the gold as one of the favorites to win it.
► Current Rio 2016 medal count
This Thursday, starting at 4:00 p.m., the track cycling will begin with the team sprint competition. The Venezuelan team consisting of Cesar Marcano, Hersony Canelón, and Ángel Pulgar is one of the favorites to win the gold medal. The entire country will be watching closely.
Track cycling: Other potential contenders besides Venezuela
Meanwhile, Bradley Wiggins aspires to be the first Briton with eight medals in the Olympic Games. At 36 years old, he won the gold in the road race of London 2012, earning his seventh Olympic medal, and in Brazil, he could win his eighth, becoming the British athlete with the most medals in the history of his country.
Natively from Ghent, Belgium, the winner of the Tour de France in 2012 will compete in the team pursuit, one of the five events of track cycling along with the sprint, team sprint, keirin, and omnium.
The track cyclists from Great Britain won four out of five gold medals in London 2012, and the women won three more. Eight out of ten possible gold medals perfectly illustrate British domination.
Gaviria, one of the favorites
The omnium in Rio will witness one of the star duels of the Games, featuring British Mark Cavendish and Colombian Fernando Gaviria.
Cavendish, winner of the Road World Championship in 2011 and with 30 stage victories in the Tour de France, is still looking for his first medal at 31 years old, after being the only British athlete to not win a track medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
But the native of the Isle of Man will have to compete against Gaviria, the new Colombian star of cycling. "Gaviria is ready to win. If conditions are right, he will fight for the gold," said Agustín Moreno, president of the Colombian Cycling Federation, to the AFP news agency.
After winning the gold medal in the Junior World Championship in 2012, Gaviria became the discipline's king. Although he is still 21 years old (he will turn 22 in Rio), "El Misil" wants to win Olympic gold. Already.
World champion of the omnium in 2015, he defended his title in 2016 after winning the Pan-American Championships in 2013, the South American Games in 2014, and the Pan-American Games in 2015. A metronome.
In women's competition, British Laura Trott is the favorite, followed by American Sarah Hammer, silver medalist in the omnium and team pursuit in London. The sprint events, after the retirement of the legend Chris Hoy in London, should be more open.
The focus will be on Australian Matthew Glaetzer, as well as the reigning world champion Joachim Eilers, British Jason Kenny, Frenchman François Pervis, and New Zealander Eddie Dawkins, who aspire to climb to the top of the podium in the keirin.