The prototype of the bicycle was 
first designed by Leonardo da 
Vinci in the 15th century.  The first 
machine to resemble the modern 
bicycle, the velocifere, was made 
in Paris in 1791, but it wasn't until 
the late 1800s that the paradigm for
 the modern bicycle was in use.  
The sport quickly gained popularity 
in Europe and America and men's 
cycling was included in the first 
modern Olympics in 1896.  It took 
until 1984 to begin adding women's
 cycling events to the Olympics.

Cycling in the Olympics consists of
 two types of races - road races 
and track races.  Road races take 
place outdoors and cover long 
distances.  A massed start is used
 and the winner is determined on 
the basis of the fastest time.  Both 
individual and team events are 
held.

Track races take place on an 
oval-shaped velodrome, where the
 track is banked all around, has 
two straight sections and is very 
steep on the curves.  The track 
races include sprints, where riders
 compete against each other, time 
trials, where a lone cyclist 
competes against the clock, 
individual pursuit, where two 
cyclists start at opposite sides of 
the track and attempt to overtake 
each other, and team pursuit, 
where each team is made of four 
riders overtaking their opponents.

Recent innovations in racing bike 
designs are helping to reduce wind
 resistance, which accounts for 
90% of the forces that slow riders 
down when traveling at speeds in 
excess of 30 mph.  
Ultrastreamlined Superbikes, 
aluminum-framed with no 
protruding bolts or cables and 
custom-designed handlebars, 
weigh less than 17 lbs.  
Bell-shaped helmets and one-piece
 drag resistant racing suits have 
also been developed to help gain 
that extra hundredth-of-a-second 
edge.

Back in the 1920s, when bikes 
were made of wood and steel and 
had only one speed, top speeds 
were less than 45 kilometers an 
hour.  Even after modern racing 
bikes were developed, it wasn't 
until the 1980s that cyclists 
achieved speeds of 50 kilometers 
an hour.  By 1994, speeds of 55 
kilometers an hour were being 
clocked.

Western Europeans dominated the 
cycling events at the Olympics until
 the past 20 years, when the 
Eastern Europeans began having 
great success.  But in the first year
 of women's competition, 1984, 
American Connie 
Carpenter-Phinney, who had 
competed as a speed skater in 
Sapporo at the Winter Games in 
1972, captured the first Gold in the 
road race.