Again only 90 cyclists in road races of the 2028 Olympic Games despite heavy criticism: "It's ridiculous, because you're not going to get all the best riders at the start"

For the 2024 Olympic Games, the number of cyclists in men's race was cut down to only 90 riders - to equal the number of starters in women's race. That decision was a bitter pill to swallow especially for the strong traditional countries like Netherlands and Belgium. However no change is planned for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, is clear from the event programme.

And while Remco Evenepoel benefitted from this freedom to secure an Olympic double, not many shared the excitement. The fact that the major cycling countries were only allowed to take a limited number of riders to the Games led to criticism from, among others, Wout Poels, who would not make the Dutch selection.

"I think it's ridiculous what they did with the number of places," the Dutchman told GCN in December 2023. "I saw that even breakdancing is Olympic these days... I actually had the feeling that cyclists have been focusing more on the Olympic Games in the last ten years. It's a shame that they are now making rules that mean the peloton consists of only ninety riders."

"It's ridiculous, because you're not going to get all the best riders at the start. Instead, you have all these countries with no cycling history. They bring riders to the start who can't even follow for ten kilometers. It's a nice Olympic idea, but it doesn't really work. A peloton of ninety riders takes away some of the shine from the race."