Britain’s Matt Walls wins gold in Tokyo 2020 Olympic Omnium, Elia Viviani claims bronze
Walls takes the first gold for Team GB on the track

Britain’s Matt Walls was unshakeable in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic men’s Omnium to win gold.
The Team GB rider put himself in great position by winning the opening scratch race, battled to a strong finish in the elimination race and secured the top spot with an assured performance in the final points race to decide the medals.
Italy’s Elia Viviani had a flying final race to move up into the silver medal position, before he lost the place in the last laps, eventually taking bronze.
It was New Zealand’s Campbell Stewart who put in his own phenomenal effort in the final event to leapfrog Viviani and secure the silver medal.
How it happened
The Omnium in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was fought over four events - the scratch race, the tempo race, the elimination race and the final points race.
Matt Walls from Team GB put himself in the driving seat in the first event, a standard 40-lap race, gaining a lap mid-way through the event and then putting himself near the front of the bunch again to secure the win, putting him into the overall lead ahead of Jan Willem van Schip (Netherlands) and Benjamin Thomas (France).
In the second event, the tempo race, where points are awarded to the first rider across the line on every lap, Walls kept himself out of trouble but Thomas and Van Schip made gains, as all three riders were tied after the second event.
Olympic cycling disciplines: Madison / team pursuit / omnium / track sprint / Keirin / team sprint
Then into the elimination race, Walls was in flying form as he led he bunch for most of the race, until just a handful of riders remained, including Thomas, Van Schip and Viviani.
Walls then dropped back and began to pick off individual riders at the line, as eventually the race came down to just Walls and Viviani.
It was the latter who comfortably sprinted to take the win, but Walls had done enough to move back into the lead.
Heading into the final event, Walls was in the gold medal spot on 114 points, followed by Van Schip on 110 and Thomas on 106.
But it was all to play for in the points race, with a sprint every 10 laps and with any points earned being added to a rider's tally in the overall competition.
After gaining an early lap and scoring 20 points, Walls put himself further out of reach for his rivals, but it was a storming performance from Elia Viviani that then stole the attention, as he catapulted himself into the silver medal spot with a lap gain.
>>> Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games cycling schedule: when to watch the racing
Walls continued to make small gains and as the sprints passed by it became clear that no-one could catch the 23-year-old without taking a lap, so he began to mark out his rivals into the final few laps.
While Viviani wasn't able to make a dent in Walls' lead, it was New Zealands Campbell Stewart who put in a late surge to steal a lap, with the 20 points putting him ahead of Viviani and into the silver medal spot.
Walls came across the line to comfortably secure his gold medal, Stewart taking silver and Viviani casting a dejected figure after taking the bronze.
Tokyo 2020 Olympics men's Omnium results
1. Matt Walls (Great Britain), 153pts
2. Campbell Stewart (New Zealand), 129pts
3. Elia Viviani (Italy), 124pts
4. Benjamin Thomas (Fra), 118pts
5. Niklas Larsen (Den), 113pts
6. Jan Willem van Schip (Ned), 112pts
7. Thery Schir (Sui), 109pts
8. Gavin Hoover (USA), 99pts
9. Roger Kluge (Ger), at 91pts
10. Albert Torres Barcelo (Esp), 84pts
Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
-
-
Dr Hutch: WLTM someone to join him on long rides
Doctor Hutch leaves sightseeing for others and dedicates his long rides to the pursuit of solitary suffering. But now he’s looking for ride-mates - A GSOH is a must
By Michael Hutchinson • Published
-
Carolin Schiff makes huge solo effort to take victory at women's Unbound Gravel 200
German off-road pro takes a massive solo victory at gravel's premiere event, Unbound
By Henry Lord • Last updated
-
'Just don't wreck yourself' - Fred Wright on his GB track gamble and the Olympics
The Bahrain Victorious rider is set to compete at the European Track Championships next week
By Tom Davidson • Published
-
Inside the secret race at the Track Champions League
Cycling Weekly lifts the lid on the private points contests ridden out of the spotlight
By Tom Davidson • Published
-
'Chris Hoy said the British coaches may be kicking themselves’ - Britain’s lost track cycling champion
British-born Australian Matthew Richardson has fast become one of the world's best track sprinters
By Tom Davidson • Published
-
Katie Archibald gets back to winning ways at Track Champions League
The defending endurance champion is up to second after the competition's second round
By Tom Davidson • Published
-
Five Dutch sprinters squeezed in a van: Life behind the glamour of the Track Champions League
Now in its second year, the competition takes riders back to their early racing days
By Tom Davidson • Published
-
Mark Stewart takes the men’s Endurance classification lead in the Track Champions League
Scotsman Stewart wins the Scratch and places third in the Elimination as Katie Archibald takes women’s Scratch victory
By Owen Rogers • Last updated
-
'This is the essence of track racing' - Chris Hoy on season two of the Track Champions League
Six-time Olympic gold medallist says he wishes he had something like this during his record-breaking track career
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Ethan Hayter bags second gold for GB on Track World Championships day four
The Brit brought his country's medal tally to seven as he retained his omnium title
By Tom Davidson • Last updated