| Date | 17 – 18 October 1968 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Velódromo Olímpico Agustín Melgar, Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca, Ciudad de México |
| Participants | 28 from 28 countries |
The 1968 World Champion was Denmark’s Mogens Frey Jensen. But the story of the individual pursuit in Mexico was the times that were recorded. The fast track and altitude enabled the riders to obliterate the Olympic records. In the qualifying, the first nine riders bettered the listed world record of 4:45.94 – set by 1964 champion Jiří Daler, and 21 riders finished faster than the Olympic record. Xaver Kurmann (SUI), 1968 World runner-up, led the qualifying with a world record 4:40:41. But that was bettered in the third quarter-final by France’s Daniel Rebillard, who recorded 4:39.87. In the final quarter-final, Frey Jensen bettered that with 4:37.54 to defeat Italy’s Cipriano Chemello, who was considered a major contender. Rebillard and Frey Jensen met in the final, with Rebillard winning an upset gold. He had only come to Mexico as a member of the French team pursuit squad, but his performances were so strong in pre-Olympic trials that he was chosen to ride the individual pursuit as well.
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Qualifying | QF | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Rébillard |  FRA | – (3) | – (1 h3) | – (1 h2) | – (1 h1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | Mogens Frey Jensen |  DEN | – (4) | – (1 h4) | – (1 h1) | – (2 h1) | Silver | ||
| 3 | Xaver Kurmann |  SUI | – (1) | – (1 h1) | – (2 h1) | – (1 h2) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | John Bylsma |  AUS | – (2) | – (1 h2) | – (2 h2) | – (2 h2) | |||
| =5 | Cipriano Chemello |  ITA | – (5) | – (2 h4) | – | – | |||
| =5 | Paul Crapez |  BEL | – (8) | – (2 h1) | – | – | |||
| =5 | Rupert Kratzer |  FRG | – (6) | – (2 h3) | – | – | |||
| =5 | Radamés Treviño |  MEX | – (7) | – (2 h2) | – | – | |||
| 9 | Martín Rodríguez |  COL | – (9) | – | – | – | |||
| 10 | Rajmund Zieliński |  POL | – (10) | – | – | – | |||
| 11 r1/4 | Knut Knudsen |  NOR | – (11) | – | – | – | |||
| 12 r1/4 | Juan Alberto Merlos |  ARG | – (12) | – | – | – | |||
| 13 r1/4 | Daniel Yuste |  ESP | – (13) | – | – | – | |||
| 14 r1/4 | Jiří Daler |  TCH | – (14) | – | – | – | |||
| 15 r1/4 | Ian Hallam |  GBR | – (15) | – | – | – | |||
| 16 r1/4 | Ole Wackström |  FIN | – (16) | – | – | – | |||
| 17 r1/4 | Gösta Pettersson |  SWE | – (17) | – | – | – | |||
| 18 r1/4 | Dave Brink |  USA | – (18) | – | – | – | |||
| 19 r1/4 | Vernon Stauble |  TTO | – (19) | – | – | – | |||
| 20 r1/4 | Benjamin Evangelista |  PHI | – (20) | – | – | – | |||
| 21 r1/4 | Tarek Abou Al Dahab |  LBN | – (21) | – | – | – | |||
| 22 r1/4 | Colin Forde |  BAR | – (22) | – | – | – | |||
| AC r1/4 | Inocente Lizano |  CUB | – ( | – | – | – | |||
| AC r1/4 | Fedor den Hertog |  NED | – ( | – | – | – | |||
| AC r1/4 | Emil Rusu |  ROU | – ( | – | – | – | |||
| AC r1/4 | Gwon Jung-Hyeon |  KOR | – ( | – | – | – | |||
| AC r1/4 | Pakanit Boriharnvanakhet |  THA | – ( | – | – | – | |||
| AC r1/4 | Denfield McNab |  BIZ | – ( | – | – | – |
| Date | 17 October 1968 — 10:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Top 8 advanced to the quarter-finals. |
| Date | 17 October 1968 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winner of each heat advanced to the semi-finals. |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xaver Kurmann | SUI | – | ||
| 2 | Paul Crapez | BEL | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Bylsma | AUS | – | ||
| 2 | Radamés Treviño | MEX | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Rébillard | FRA | – | ||
| 2 | Rupert Kratzer | FRG | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mogens Frey Jensen | DEN | – | ||
| 2 | Cipriano Chemello | ITA | – |
| Date | 18 October 1968 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winner of each heat advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mogens Frey Jensen | DEN | – | ||
| 2 | Xaver Kurmann | SUI | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Rébillard | FRA | – | ||
| 2 | John Bylsma | AUS | – |
| Date | 18 October 1968 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Rébillard | FRA | – | ||
| 2 | Mogens Frey Jensen | DEN | – |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xaver Kurmann | SUI | – | ||
| 2 | John Bylsma | AUS | – |
