Points Race, Men

As in 1996, the Sydney points race was a single final contested over 40 km., with 23 cyclists starting. The race was won by the 1996 and 1998 World Champion, Juan Llaneras of Spain. Llaneras had only the fifth-most points in the race, but there were two big breaks during the race and he went with both of them, and then eventually got off the front by himself, lapping the field to win unopposed over the last few laps. Later in the year he would win the World Championships again and would return to win a second gold in the event in 2008. The race among the eight riders who were only one lap down went to the surprising Uruguayan Milton Wynants, the first-ever cycling medal for that nation. Wynants, the early leader in the race, had only qualified for the Olympics through his placing at the B World Championships.