The 2028 Olympic road race might be the hardest ever

Kristof Ramon, Gruber Images, Cor Vos

As the 2026 Winter Olympics wraps up this weekend, attention will turn to the next Games, scheduled for Los Angeles, California, in July 2028. While the event is still more than two years away, preparations are proceeding quickly, among them mapping out a route for cycling's showcase event, the road race.

A leaked document obtained by Escape Collective shows a preliminary route for the men's and women's road race courses. While not yet final, the routes – if used on race day (July 22 for women, July 23 for men) – could be the hardest in Olympic history.

According to the document, the women's route will be 163 km (101.2 miles) and feature 2,950 meters (9,678 feet) of elevation gain. The men's route is a Monument-like 251 km (156 miles) that will see riders tackle 5,010 meters (16,437 feet) of climbing. For perspective, the men's and women's race courses are roughly the same distance as Liège-Bastogne-Liège and (men's) Il Lombardia, the hardest one-day races on the WorldTour, but with slightly more climbing (200-600 meters, depending on race, year, and route).

Note: This file shows the women's route with one lap of the Rock Store circuit. Due to how Strava maps the circuit, the total distance and elevation here is different than the route document.

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