Great year for Greek cyclists
2019 was a fantastic year for Greek cycling, and Greece could soon win their first Olympic medal in the sport since 1896.
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Christos Volikakis has been Greece’s top cyclist for the past decade and a half. The 31-year-old from Volos recently qualified for his fourth consecutive Olympics, and he will compete in the men’s omnium in Tokyo. He is currently ranked fourth in the world in that event, and will have a decent chance at becoming Greece’s first Olympic medalist in cycling since Aristidis Konstantinidis won gold in the men’s road race at the 1896 Olympics in Athens.
Volikakis has also done exceptionally well in non-Olympic events in 2019. He is currently ranked number one in the world in the men’s scratch race, where he won gold at the European Games and silver at the European Championships. He is also ranked third in the world in the men’s points race, where he won gold at this year’s European Games.
Also having a great 2019 season was Konstantinos Livanos. The 19-year-old from Chania, Crete, won four gold medals this year. At the European Junior Championships, he took gold in both the men’s sprint and the men’s 1 km time trial. Then, at the World Junior Championships, Livanos won gold in both the men’s keirin and the men’s sprint, and finished fourth in the men’s 1 km time trial.
As a result, Livanos is now ranked second in the world junior rankings in the men’s 1 km time trial (where Greece is also second in the nation ranking), third in the men’s sprint (with Greece being ranked fifth in the men’s team sprint), and fourth in the men’s keirin. It should be noted that the keirin, sprint, and team sprint are all Olympic events.
Panagiotis Karatsivis also had a successful 2019 season. The youngster from Larissa won silver in the men’s elimination race (a non-Olympic event) at the European Junior Championships.
Lastly, 2019 also saw Greece qualify a cyclist for the 2020 Olympics in the men’s road race. Polychronis Tzortzakis, a 30-year-old from Chania, Crete, is set to make his Olympic debut in Tokyo.
