This week the XCO grid for the Paris Olympics is decided. How does the classification work?

The XCO World Cup in Nove Mesto this weekend will mark the end of the qualification process for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The Olympic event will only have space for a total of 72 riders.

The pre-Olympic race for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games: this is how the qualification system works

The Olympic Games is the biggest race on the planet. The Olympic event is so significant that the best riders in the world plan their year with the goal of arriving in top condition at the starting grid on July 28-29 -here is the complete schedule-. However, the shared dream of competing for the gold medal is reserved only for the select number of cyclists who have surpassed the demanding qualification system that grants tickets to Paris.

The Olympic qualification period began on a distant May 7, 2022, and will end on May 26. The XCO World Cup in Nove Mesto is the last chance for those riders who still have their participation up in the air.

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The Paris 2024 Olympic Games distribute a total of 72 spots between the men's and women's races. Each federation -the most appropriate term is NOC, for the English acronym of National Olympic Committee- is eligible for a maximum of two spots, except for France which as the host country has the privilege of having two extra spots -one for men and one for women-.

In addition, there are two more participations -one per category- reserved as Universality Places granted by the Tripartite Commission.

There are 54 Olympic spots following the standardized criteria of the pure qualification system. There are numerous races on the calendar that, depending on their category and the result obtained, award a greater or lesser amount of points. Riders accumulate these points and the UCI ranks them in the Individual Ranking, from which the Nations Ranking is derived -the points of the top three riders from each NOC are added up-.

This way, two spots are granted to the NOCs that rank from first to eighth position, while the NOCs from ninth to nineteenth only qualify one rider. The spots belong to the NOCs -not the riders- and therefore it is up to them to decide which riders to call up.

This is the current UCI Nations Ranking for Men

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The other 14 spots -7 for the men's race and 7 for the women's race- are distributed in two ways. Firstly, there is a spot for the NOCs with the best results in the 2023 Continental Championships of Africa, America, and Asia that have not qualified through the ranking.

Secondly, there is a spot for the two NOCs with the best result in the 2023 World Championships that have not qualified through the ranking. The rule states that those who earn a spot in the elite race cannot obtain another one through the U23 race.