When Was Mountain Biking Added to Olympics?

Mountain biking, or all-terrain cycling, has been a popular activity since the early 20th century. The sport has seen a steady rise in popularity and participation over the years, and is now an Olympic event. But when was mountain biking added to the Olympics?

Mountain biking first became an Olympic event in 1996 at the Atlanta Summer Games. The event included both men’s and women’s individual cross-country and downhill events.

Cross-country was the first Olympic mountain bike race, with a course that included steep climbs, tight turns and challenging single track trails. The downhill race was held on an artificial course with jumps, drop-offs and other obstacles.

Since its debut in 1996, mountain biking has become an increasingly popular event at the Olympics. In 2004, four-cross (4X) events were added to the lineup for both men and women.

4X is a fast-paced race format where four riders go head to head on a course featuring berms (banked corners), jumps and other features. BMX racing was also added for both men and women in 2008, with riders competing on specially designed tracks featuring jumps, banked turns and other obstacles.

The 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang saw another addition to the Olympic mountain bike program: an Eliminator (ELM) event for men and women. ELM is a fast-paced race format where two riders compete head to head over several laps of a short course featuring tight turns, drops and jumps.

Conclusion: Mountain biking was added to the Olympics in 1996 with cross-country events for both men and women. Since then it has grown to include 4X events for both genders (2004), BMX racing for both genders (2008) and Eliminator events for both genders (2018). Mountain biking continues to be one of the most popular summer Olympic events today.

Photo of author

Jennifer Watson