The upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy are drawing attention to a remarkable trend: elite cyclists finding success in winter sports. This article delves into the inherent connections between these athletic pursuits, highlighting the shared emphasis on explosive power, anaerobic capacity, and meticulous pursuit of marginal gains. Many athletes have seamlessly transitioned from the velodrome and road to ice and snow, proving that the skills honed in cycling are highly transferable to disciplines like bobsleigh and speed skating. These extraordinary individuals embody the pinnacle of athletic versatility, having represented their nations in both Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
As the Games commence across Northern Italy, the Olympic archives reveal compelling stories of athletes who have masterfully navigated this unique transition. One such prominent figure at Milano Cortina 2026 is Kelsey Mitchell, an Olympic track cycling champion from Canada. Having secured a gold medal in the women's keirin at the Tokyo 2020 Games, Mitchell, now 31, is applying her immense power and explosiveness to bobsleigh. She will compete as a brakewoman for Canada, a role that demands explosive pushing strength to maximize the sled's initial speed. Her journey underscores the profound similarities in physical requirements across these sports, as she prepares for her third Olympic appearance, albeit in a new discipline.
Another inspiring example is American Mia Manganello Kilburg, who is set to participate in her third and final Olympic Winter Games at Milano Cortina 2026. At 36, Kilburg is enjoying a career-best season, a testament to her enduring athleticism and a powerful engine cultivated through both cycling and speed skating. Although she began her athletic career in speed skating at a young age, she took a detour to become a professional road cyclist, racing for DNA Pro Cycling on the U.S. domestic circuit. The stamina and strategic pacing acquired from her cycling career proved invaluable upon her return to long-track speed skating, ultimately leading to a bronze medal with the U.S. women's team pursuit squad at PyeongChang 2018. Despite a brief retirement after Beijing 2022, she has returned to the ice for one last Olympic campaign.
The historical landscape of the Olympics is rich with athletes who have excelled in both summer and winter disciplines. Clara Hughes of Canada stands out as one of the few Olympians to have earned multiple medals in both Summer and Winter Games. Her exceptional endurance first brought her two bronze medals in road cycling and the time trial at the 1996 Atlanta Games. She then transitioned to speed skating, where she garnered four Olympic medals between 2002 and 2010, including a gold in Turin. Similarly, American Connie Carpenter-Phinney, a cycling pioneer, began her Olympic journey as a speed skater at the tender age of 14 at the 1972 Winter Olympics. Twelve years later, she made history again by winning gold in the inaugural women's Olympic road race at the Los Angeles 1984 Games, becoming the first-ever women's Olympic road cycling champion.
East Germany's Christa Luding-Rothenburger achieved an unparalleled feat by winning medals at both the Winter and Summer Olympics in the same year, 1988. After securing gold and silver in speed skating at the Calgary Winter Olympics, she went on to win a silver medal in track cycling sprint at the Seoul Summer Games. This remarkable achievement, during an era when both Games were held in the same year, is unlikely to be replicated under the modern Olympic schedule. Japan's Seiko Hashimoto also built an extensive Olympic career, participating in four Winter Games as a speed skater and three Summer Games as a track cyclist, accumulating seven Olympic appearances from 1984 to 1996. While she didn't win Olympic medals, her dual-discipline tenacity made her a national icon, leading to her eventual role as president of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and her current position in Japanese politics.
American Chris Witty is another distinguished dual-sport athlete, competing in five Olympic Games across long-track speed skating and track cycling. Her most notable success came on the ice at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, where she won gold in the 1000m and bronze in the 500m, setting an Olympic record in the 1000m that still stands. Brazil's Jaqueline Mourão represents an even rarer category, having competed in eight Olympic Games across three disciplines: mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and biathlon. Her career spanned a 16-year Olympic window in mountain biking and five consecutive Winter Olympics in cross-country skiing, even adding biathlon for Sochi 2014, where she served as her country's flag bearer. Lastly, the Netherlands' Laurine van Riessen started her four-Olympic career in speed skating, winning a bronze in Vancouver 2010. Leveraging her cycling background from off-ice conditioning, she later transitioned to track cycling, representing her country at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.
The stories of these exceptional athletes underscore the profound interconnectedness of seemingly distinct sports. Their journeys demonstrate that the core attributes of elite athleticism—power, endurance, precision, and an unwavering commitment to improvement—transcend specific environments, allowing individuals to achieve greatness on both the track and the ice. These Olympians serve as powerful reminders of the human capacity for adaptation and excellence across diverse athletic challenges.