The Individual Sprint is a race between two riders at a time over three laps of the track. The two riders start side by side and on the starting signal set off, usually very slowly, before building up to a full-on sprint finish. It is an extremely tactical event: riders usually do not want to be in the front for the full race, which is why they may slow down and use the full width of the track.

The men’s Individual Sprint event starts with a 200m time trial to determine the draw for the 16 riders. From then on the competition is a knockout, going to quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final, which are all the best of three heats.

The Team Sprint starts with a qualifying round with the best two teams going forward to the final. The mixed Team Sprint event (classes C1–5) comprising men and women will be contested by teams of three riders. The two fastest teams in the qualifying round will race for the gold medal, and the teams with the third and fourth fastest times will race for the bronze medal.

For a complete set of rules, please refer to the international federation (UCI).