British cyclist Chris Boardman successfully used a carbon-fibre frame bike weighing less than nine kilograms at Barcelona in 1992. (David Cannon/Getty Images)

It may have taken years for a Scottish blacksmith named Kirkpatrick MacMillan to finally design pedals for a bicycle, but the evolution of track didn't take nearly as long.

Bicycling as a sport blossomed with the advent of the pneumatic tire in 1888. Long distance riding became popular, as well as long-distance races like the gruelling six-day events held on a velodrome in New York's Madison Square Garden during the 1920s and 1930s.

By 1893, cycling had a large enough following to permit a world championship, and three years later, bicycle racing made its way into the first inaugural modern day Olympic Games. Events included a one-lap race, a 100-kilometre event and an intense 12-hour ride where only two weary cyclists managed to cross the finish line after almost 300 km.

Other early Olympic cycling events included a 2,000 m tandem race, in which two riders competed on the same bicycle. Among its most notable winners were the Australian duo of Russell Mockridge and Lionel Cox, who raced at the 1952 Helsinki Games. The pair had to borrow a bicycle from the British team and was even forced to assemble it before the first race. Cox had never even been on a tandem bike before the competition.

No two bikes are alike

There are significant differences between the bikes that are used for track and road. Track cycling has bicycles specially designed for this purpose. Bicycles that are used for track have one gear and no brakes. The gear is "fixed," so they can't coast — whenever the rear wheel turns, the pedals do, too. They often have lightweight frames that are sometimes constructed from expensive materials like carbon-fibre. The tires and wheels are narrow and inflated to pressures well beyond those used in road cycling in an effort to minimize the "rolling resistance" caused by friction.

The technology used in the construction of track bikes has moved ahead over the years, but visible differences didn't really start to appear until the 1984 debut of the carbon-fibre spokeless wheel. British cyclist Chris Boardman successfully used a carbon-fibre frame bike weighing in at less than nine kilograms at Barcelona in 1992, and most track bikes have since followed suit.

Along the way many of the earlier Olympic cycling events have been scrapped in favour of the current track, road and cross-country lineup, but some — like the 1,000 m sprint, still remain. Women first participated in Olympic cycling at Los Angeles in 1984. From just one competition — the road race — the number of women's events has grown to six in Beijing.

Australians dominate Athens

While France and Italy traditionally dominate track cycling, Australia blew away the competition at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Led by Ryan Bayley's double gold-medal effort, Australia won seven of the 16 events four years ago.Edmonton's Lori-Ann Muenzer celebrates her gold-medal perfomance after winning the women's sprint final in Athens. (Eric Risberg/Associated Press)

Each field is hotly competitive, making repeat gold-medal performances in the same event rare. There are four on record: France's Daniel Morelon won the men's sprint in 1968 and 1972, while Germany's Jens Fiedler took the sprint title in 1992 and 1996. On the women's side, Russia's Erika Sulumae captured gold in the sprint in 1988 and 1992, with France's Felicia Ballanger completing the same feat in 1996 and 2000.

Canada has had some success on the track. Brian Walton took home a silver medal in Atlanta for the individual time trial, while Curt Harnett won silver in the individual time trial in 1984 and bronze in the sprint in both 1992 and 1996. But the nation's greatest accomplishment occurred in 2004 as Edmonton's Lori-Ann Muenzer overcame an injury-riddled career to win gold. Muenzer, a darkhorse heading into the Games, crushed Russia's Tamilla Abassova in the final of the women's 1000 m sprint.

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