Qualification and Race Format
The first round of the competition at major events is the qualifying round. This still involves two riders on the track at the same time but they are not directly competing against each other but attempting to set the fastest time to progress in the competition. In the Olympic Games the top riders progress into knock out rounds, with the top two surviving into the Gold and Silver medal race and next two into the Bronze Medal race. In the World Championships or World Cup Classic events, the top two riders from the qualifying round progress directly to the Gold and Silver medal race while the third and forth qualifiers fight it out for Bronze.
As of December 10, 2009 the IOC approved a UCI recommendation to restructure track events at the 2012 Games in London, including the abandonment of individual pursuit events.
Read more about this topic: Individual Pursuit
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—Elizabeth Blair Lee (1818–?)