# Cycling at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's individual pursuit

These are the official results of the Men's individual pursuit at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, held on 31 August and 1 September 1972. There were 28 participants from 28 nations.

## Competition format

The individual pursuit competition consisted of a qualifying round and a 3-round knockout tournament, 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 cyclists raced for 4,000 metres, attempting to finish with the fastest time and, if possible, catch the other cyclist. For the qualifying round, the eight fastest times overall (regardless of whether the cyclist finished first or second in his heat, though any cyclist who was overtaken was eliminated) earned advancement to the knockout rounds. In the knockout rounds, the winner of each heat advanced to the next round.

## Results
### Qualifying round

| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Knut Knudsen | Norway | 4:49.06 | Q |
| 2 | John Bylsma | Australia | 4:50.06 | Q |
| 3 | Hans Lutz | West Germany | 4:51.33 | Q |
| 4 | Luciano Borgognoni | Italy | 4:52.37 | Q |
| 5 | Xaver Kurmann | Switzerland | 4:54.50 | Q |
| 6 | Carlos Miguel Álvarez | Argentina | 4:55.46 | Q |
| 7 | Roy Schuiten | Netherlands | 4:56.10 | Q |
| 8 | Luis Díaz | Colombia | 4:56.32 | Q |
| 9 | Thomas Huschke | East Germany | 4:57.95 | |
| 10 | Ian Hallam | Great Britain | 4:59.43 | |
| 11 | Francisco Huerta | Mexico | 5:00.93 | |
| 12 | John Vande Velde | United States | 5:01.75 | |
| 13 | Reno Olsen | Denmark | 5:02.00 | |
| 14 | Mieczysław Nowicki | Poland | 5:02.28 | |
| 15 | Ivan Tsvetkov | Bulgaria | 5:02.39 | |
| 16 | Milan Puzrla | Czechoslovakia | 5:02.55 | |
| 17 | Miguel Espinós | Spain | 5:03.26 | |
| 18 | Wilfried Wesemael | Belgium | 5:04.67 | |
| 19 | Raimo Suikkanen | Finland | 5:06.77 | |
| 20 | Michel Zucarelli | France | 5:07.17 | |
| 21 | Roberto Heredero | Cuba | 5:07.70 | |
| 22 | Ron Hayman | Canada | 5:17.51 | |
| 23 | Vernon Stauble | Trinidad and Tobago | 5:17.87 | |
| 24 | Orlando Bates | Barbados | 5:19.68 | |
| 25 | Khosro Haghgosha | Iran | 5:22.98 | |
| 26 | Michael Lecky | Jamaica | 5:29.90 | |
| 27 | Tarek Abou Al Dahab | Lebanon | 5:41.19 | |
| 28 | Maximo Junta | Philippines | 5:53.19 | |

### Quarterfinals
#### Quarterfinal 1

| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Xaver Kurmann | Switzerland | 4:50.54 | Q |
| 2 | Luciano Borgognoni | Italy | 4:52.31 | |

#### Quarterfinal 2

| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Hans Lutz | West Germany | 4:56.17 | Q |
| 2 | Carlos Miguel Álvarez | Argentina | 4:57.09 | |

#### Quarterfinal 3

| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | John Bylsma | Australia | 4:50.47 | Q |
| 2 | Roy Schuiten | Netherlands | 4:52.16 | |

#### Quarterfinal 4

| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Knut Knudsen | Norway | 4:47.43 | Q |
| 2 | Luis Díaz | Colombia | Overtaken | |

### Semifinals
#### Semifinal 1

| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Xaver Kurmann | Switzerland | 4:47.04 | Q |
| 2 | John Bylsma | Australia | 4:47.41 | B |

#### Semifinal 2

| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Knut Knudsen | Norway | 4:45.57 | Q |
| 2 | Hans Lutz | West Germany | Overtaken | B |

### Finals
#### Bronze medal match

| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time |
| | Hans Lutz | West Germany | 4:50.80 |
| 4 | John Bylsma | Australia | 4:54.93 |

#### Final

| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time |
| | Knut Knudsen | Norway | 4:45.74 |
| | Xaver Kurmann | Switzerland | 4:51.96 |

## Final classification

| Rank | Name | Nationality |
| | Knut Knudsen | Norway |
| | Xaver Kurmann | Switzerland |
| | Hans Lutz | West Germany |
| 4 | John Bylsma | Australia |
| 5 | Carlos Miguel Álvarez | Argentina |
| 5 | Luciano Borgognoni | Italy |
| 5 | Luis Díaz | Colombia |
| 5 | Roy Schuiten | Netherlands |
| 9 | Thomas Huschke | East Germany |
| 10 | Ian Hallam | Great Britain |
| 11 | Francisco Huerta | Mexico |
| 12 | John Vande Velde | United States |
| 13 | Reno Olsen | Denmark |
| 14 | Mieczysław Nowicki | Poland |
| 15 | Ivan Tsvetkov | Bulgaria |
| 16 | Milan Puzrla | Czechoslovakia |
| 17 | Miguel Espinós | Spain |
| 18 | Wilfried Wesemael | Belgium |
| 19 | Raimo Suikkanen | Finland |
| 20 | Michel Zucarelli | France |
| 21 | Roberto Heredero | Cuba |
| 22 | Ron Hayman | Canada |
| 23 | Vernon Stauble | Trinidad and Tobago |
| 24 | Orlando Bates | Barbados |
| 25 | Khosro Haghgosha | Iran |
| 26 | Michael Lecky | Jamaica |
| 27 | Tarek Abou Al Dahab | Lebanon |
| 28 | Maximo Junta | Philippines |