Now that the Tour de France is over, the cycling world is focusing on the Olympic Games in Paris that start for cyclists on Saturday.
The route of the individual time trial seems to be suitable for the big engines. The course is flat with only 150 meters of elevation and contains many straight sections. The cyclists will ride 32.4 kilometers.
Picking a top favorite for this Olympic time trial is not easy. That is good news for cycling fans, because it means that we can probably see a very exciting battle. There is a chance that three riders will stand out a bit above the rest of the field.
The first of those three riders is Remco Evenepoel. The Belgian rode four time trials this year and won three of them. A side note is that Evenepoel only has five days of rest between the end of the Tour de France and the time trial in Paris. Is that enough to recover properly? It is possible, but it is not ideal. There will undoubtedly still be some fatigue in his legs when he rolls off the starting ramp in Paris.
Filippo Ganna deliberately skipped the Tour in order to prepare himself optimally for the Olympic Games. He also has a chance of winning a medal on the track, but will want to score immediately in the individual time trial on the road. The flat route with many long, straight roads is on paper tailor-made for him.
Joshua Tarling surprised the cycling world with a third place at the World Championship in Glasgow last year. The Briton was, together with Ganna, the only one who managed to stay within a minute of Evenepoel. A month and a half later, he overpowered Stefan Bissegger and Wout van Aert at the European Championships in Emmen. And at the very end of the season, in the Chrono des Nations, he defeated world champion Evenepoel.
We predict a victory for Joshua Tarling and the gold medal for the British rider.
Last winners
2021 Primoz Roglic
2016 Fabian Cancellara
2012 Bradley Wiggins
2008 Fabian Cancellara
2004 Viatcheslav Ekimov
2000 Viatcheslav Ekimov
1996 Miguel Indurain
