The battle of the world's best track athletes at the Izu Velodrome will begin August 2 at the Tokyo Olympics and last for seven days. Track dominated 12 of the 22 cycling events at the Tokyo Olympics, with BMX, mountain biking, and road medals also up for grabs.

Track events were first held at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896, where individual sprints were contested. In fact, all track races were competed exclusively by men until 1988, when women's individual sprints were held. [Track events are classified into endurance and sprint events. Sprint events include team sprint, individual sprint, and keirin, while endurance events include team pursuit, omnium, and Madison.

Monday's schedule begins with qualifying, consecutive heats, and the final of the women's team sprint. This is one of the fastest and most thrilling cycling events at the Olympics. Qualifying for the women's team pursuit also begins on this day. The men's team sprints will begin their medal rounds on Tuesday, while the women's team sprints will be the final round of the team pursuit.

Tokyo will make history with the first women's Madison race on August 6. On the final day, three gold medals will be decided in the men's keirin and the women's individual sprint and omnium points.

Track cycling provides a pure adrenaline rush for athletes and spectators alike, but the action is not always about going fast. There are track stands that keep riders in position without rolling backwards, and arm slings where riders hold hands and the rider in front pushes the rider behind forward. The wooden floor has various colored strips that serve as "lanes" for riders to protect themselves in different disciplines.

The lead-off event, the team sprint, starts with two teams on opposite sides of the course, men in pairs of three and women in pairs. With each lap, the leaders pull away and the laggards attack the aerodynamic resistance with the same momentum. The race is decided by the finishing time of the last-place finisher.

To learn more about the events and race highlights for each circuit, please see the complete description of each event and the schedule of when the races will take place. See the list below and click on the links to see all the information.