The men's points race in cycling at the 2004 Summer Olympics consisted of a 160 lap (40 kilometre) points race with 16 sprints where points were awarded. 5 points were given to the first finisher of each sprint, with 3 going to the second-place finisher, 2 going to the third place cyclist, and 1 going to the fourth place rider. Cyclists could also score points by lapping the main body of riders, known as the peloton. 20 points were gained by doing this, while 20 points were lost if the peloton lapped the cyclist.
Results
The young Russian rider, Mikhail Ignatiev, carefully watched the breaks and did four extra laps for 80 points. Several other riders managed to do one, two, or three extra laps, but it wasn't enough to catch Ignatyev.
* (DNF = Did Not Finish)