UCI confirms team quotas for Tokyo Olympics road cycling events

The UCI has confirmed the number of rider spots each nation will receive for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games road cycling events.

The maximum number of places each nation can receive for the road race events is five for the men's race and four places for the women's race. The respective pelotons for each race will be made up of 130 riders and 67 riders.

>>> Great Britain men's team have four riders for the road race while the women have just two places

With qualification based on the UCI World Ranking, Great Britain will only take four riders - having had five in London 2012 and Rio 2016 - after finishing 11th in the nations ranking. GB will have the maximum of two spots in the men's time trial however, after Alex Dowsett secured a second spot thanks to his fifth place finish in the time trial at the World Championships in September.

Teams with five spots include Belgium, Colombia, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. Great Britian is among the seven teams that have received four places for the mountainous course in Tokyo.

The GB women's team will also take one less rider than in Rio, with just two spots instead of three after they also finished 11th in the World Ranking. The women's team will have just one place in the time trial; the same as in 2016.

Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and USA are the teams allocated the maximum spots for the road race.

Lizzie Deignan is almost certain to lead the GB team in the road race, and this year travelled to Japan alongside Hannah Barnes to recon the course.

Chris Froome has made no secret about his desire to combine winning a fifth Tour de France with a shot at Olympic gold in 2020, though his inclusion will heavily depend on how he recovers from the injuries suffered at the Critérium du Dauphiné in June.

The Yates brothers Adam and Simon, as well as 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas could be potential inclusions in the GB men's road race squad.

Greg Van Avermaet is the defending Olympic champion, although is unlikely to feature in 2020 considering the difficulty of the course around Mount Fuji next July.