Nelson Beasley Vails (born October 13, 1960) is a retired road and track cyclist from the United States.

He rode as a professional from 1988 to 1995 representing the US at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, where he became the first African American and first person of African descent to win an Olympic medal in cycling.

[1] He won the silver medal in the sprint, behind countryman Mark Gorski.

He didn't just play a bicycle messenger in "Quicksilver," he worked as one in New York City.

In 2005 Vails was inducted into the Lehigh Valley Velodrome Cycling Hall of Fame.