The individual pursuit competition consisted of a qualifying round and a 4-round knockout tournament (increased from three rounds in previous Games), including a bronze medal race. Each race, in both the qualifying round and the knock-out rounds, consisted of a pair of cyclists starting from opposite sides of the track.
The individual competition comprised a preliminary stage and an 8-stage knockout tournament (expanded from six stages in previous Games), including a third-place match. Each stage, both in the preliminary stage and the knockout stages, involved two cyclists starting from opposite sides of the track.