When the Omnium was first introduced in 2012 in the Olympic Games, supplanting such time-honoured races as the individual pursuit and the kilometre time trial for a single, multi-event competition, it caused no end of controversy. But after four Olympic cycles and some more significant changes in format, the Omnium has now become a well-established and exciting component of both the Games and the World Championships.
The typically significant role played by the points race, the last of the Omnium format, allowed Britain’s Matthew Walls to claim gold in 2021 in Tokyo, comfortably outstripping his closest opponent Campbell Stewart of New Zealand.
