Like any other route to the Olympic Games, the road to qualification in mountain bike is tough, long and winding, but holds out the promise of a great reward for whoever manages to get there. This Monday (25 May) the qualification period for the sport reached its halfway stage – there is just a year left before fans find out who qualifies for the mountain bike event in the Olympic Games.

Of the 50 participants in the men’s squad, 41 will be determined by their position in the federation’s Olympic qualification rankings. Results started to count towards this ranking on 25 May of this past year and will continue until 25 May 2016. The 23 best-placed countries will guarantee themselves a place in the Olympic Games Rio 2016 in the following way: the five top-ranked countries will each have the right to three Olympic places; the countries between 6^th and 13^th place will get two places each; then each of the next ten best will be able to send one cyclist to the mountain bike event in the Rio 2016 Games.

The Olympic qualification for women follows a similar pattern, but with fewer places. For the 30 spots available for women, 25 will come from their nation’s position in the Olympic rankings, with the best eight countries guaranteed two athletes each, and the nine countries following winning one place each.

The four champions of the 2015 continental competitions (in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania) will also qualify, but only if they have failed to reach the Games via the ranking route. The top two countries in each men’s tournament (up to a total of eight places) and the best nations in the women’s event (up to four spots) that have still failed to secure places through the ranking route will win one place each.

As they were the best countries in their respective continental tournaments, South Africa and Mauritius (Africa), Brazil and Colombia (Americas) and Australia and New Zealand (Oceania) have already booked their spots in the men’s events. In the women’s, South Africa, Mexico and Australia are through.

As host country, Brazil already has two places guaranteed for the mountain bike, one for the men’s event and the other for the women’s. But, according to Ruy Avancini, the technical director of the Brazil team, the goal is to ensure at least two athletes qualify in the men’s event. For this, Brazil needs so stay in the list of the 13 best teams until 2016 – currently they are in 13^th place. The task is tough, but within the reach of the green and yellows.

“It’s a tough ask,” Avancini said. “Cycling is an unpredictable sport: one fall on the last bend from one cyclist and the country could lose many points. But today, we are within the qualification band. So we are within our target range. It’s hard, but it’s doable.” Ruy Avancini is the father of Henrique Avancini, the best-ranked Brazilian athlete in the sport and the Americas champion, currently in 10^th place in the world rankings.

The next championship to guarantee an Olympic place this year will be Asia, in Malaysia between 12-16 August.

Rio2016.com is not an absolute authority on qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is an ongoing process. Final places will only be confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games). The qualification systems are defined by each sport’s respective International Federation and the International Olympic Committee or International Paralympic Committee, and are subject to change. When an athlete or team wins a quota place for their nation, the final decision on whether this ‘slot’ is used and which athletes are sent is taken by the respective National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee (NOC or NPC). Even when athletes win a ‘nominal’ place for themselves, NOCs/NPCs may have to decide who to send if the number of qualified athletes from one country exceeds the quota.