Cycling was a great success story at the Rio Olympics on a number of fronts. Track, road and off-road cycling got some fantastic coverage and the athletes that work so hard behind the scenes won some well deserved recognition. The medalists have been celebrated, we already covered the British track cycling team’s success in Rio, however it was one of cycling's less traditional cousins that won a lot of media attention thanks to some US success and a format made for TV viewing.
BMX - the Surprise Package at Rio
It wasn’t BMX’s debut at the Olympics, it first appeared in Beijing in 2008, however the peculiar sport gained more US media coverage this year thanks a US men's gold and women’s silver. Connor Fields won gold in the hotly contested men’s final, securing the USA’s first ever gold in BMX, while Alise Post won silver behind defending champion Mariana Pajon of Colombia.