Following four years of Olympic battle hiatus, professional cyclists from all parts of the World had arrived in Paris for the Men’s Individual Time Trial challenge of the 2024 Olympic Games. While some contestants had taken a brief vacation after recently finishing this year’s Tour de France, other riders had been in training camps, preparing specifically for the renowned race against the clock.

The female cyclists had competed in the same discipline earlier in the afternoon and it had been a wet battle with many crashes on the slippery roads of Paris, France. There had been so many crashes – some riders had even crashed no less than five times – that some were speculating if a hostile nation was engaging in hybrid warfare, by deliberately making the roads slippery, hoping to sabotage and destabilize the otherwise wonderful and long-anticipated Olympics in Paris – the Worldwide center of romance.

Australia’s Grace Brown handled the many obstacles remarkably well and fought her way to a gold medal in the Women’s Individual Time Trial. Great Britain’s Anna Henderson took silver, while Chloe Dygert secured the bronze medal for the United States.

The Olympic race organizers had designed a relatively flat route for the men’s individual time trial race of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The men would have to compete on a 32.4-kilometer route through the streets of Paris. The route was significantly shorter than what is usual for this Olympic discipline. Additionally, the route featured fewer elevation gains. There were many sharp turns on the route, and these could prove challenging for the riders if the wet weather conditions were to continue.

The riders would start their time trials in front of Les Invalides, which is situated in the seventh arrondissement of Paris and is the home of French military museums and monuments, a hospital, and a retirement home for old-age soldiers. The riders would cross the Alexandre III bridge, travel eastwards near the left bank of the Seine river, cross the Seine after passing the Notre Dame cathedral, cross the Place the la Bastille, ride further east to the Place de la Nation, reach Les Arcades and the Chateau de Vincennes, pass through the Vincennes forest, ride by the Velodrome Jacques Anquetil, make their way back to Place de la Bastille, cross the Seine again, ride along the left bank of the Seine, and conclude their time trials on the Pont Alexandre III. A historically and architecturally very interesting route.

Time trial strong men Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard were not participating in this year’s Olympic time trial. Favorites to win the Olympic medals included Remco Evenepoel (Belgium), Filippo Ganna (Italy), Stefan Küng (Switzerland), Wout van Aert (Belgium), Stefan Bissegger (Switzerland), Brandon McNulty (United States), Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland), and Magnus Sheffield (United States).

Jan Tratnik (Slovenia) and Alberto Bettiol (Italy) were the first noteworthy riders to leave the start ramp at Les Invalides. Both riders had recently participated in this year’s Tour de France.

Ryan Mullen (Ireland) and Mathias Skjelmose (Denmark) also started their time trials. Stefan Bissegger also set out on his mission to secure a medal for Switzerland.

29-year-old Wout can Aert started his long-anticipated time trial. The Belgian time trial specialist was using both front and rear disc wheels on his Cervelo P5 bike to further improve his aerodynamics. The Reserve Infinity Disc Turbulent Aero wheels had been specifically designed for van Aert. Van Aert had also chosen the Giro Aerohead 2.0 time trial helmet and the SRAM Red AXS groupset. But how would he fare on the wet roads and were the dual disc wheels too much of a risk?

Tratnik had set an early fastest finishing time, but Bettiol was significantly faster and entered the golden hot seat.

European time trial champion and British national champion Joshua Tarling left the start ramp and immediately set a powerful pace. The 20-year-old rider looked determined to deliver a memorable result for his nation and his career prospects.

Swiss national time trial champion Stefan Küng started his time trial. Küng had previously come close to securing an Olympic time trial medal, as he finished fourth in the Olympic time trial of the 2021 Japan Olympics.

Ireland’s Ryan Mullen set a new fastest time and replaced Bettiol in the golden hot seat. However, it did not take long before Czech rider Mathias Vacek bettered his finishing time.

Italy’s Filippo Ganna started his time trial. Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel was the last rider to leave the start ramp.

Magnus Sheffield crashed. His skinsuit was torn to pieces. Tarling suffered a mechanical issue and had to receive support from the mechanic in the support car. 

Several Olympic cyclists were spotted wearing FlowBio hydration sensors, to further improve their performances on their time trial aero bikes.

Van Aert crossed Intermediate Timing Point 1 in the fastest time. How would his performance develop along the course? Bissegger had the best time at intermediate timing point 2, but van Aert, Evenepoel and other riders had yet to reach this timing point.

Van Aert reached Intermediate Timing Point 2 and had shaved forty seconds off Bissegger’s best time.  

Denmark’s Skjelmose set the third-best time when he crossed the finish line. But other riders were yet to finish their time trials. 

Ganna had set a new best time at Intermediate Timing Point 1, but Evenepoel soon powered past this timing point in a new fastest time.

Van Aert improved Bissegger’s time at Intermediate Timing Point 2. How would Evenepoel and Ganna perform at this point?

Van Aert forced Bissegger out of the golden hot seat when he set a new fastest time at the finish line.

Italy’s Ganna did not manage to beat van Aert’s time at Intermediate Timing Point 2. He was five seconds slower than the Belgian. 

Ganna almost crashed but managed to use his brilliant bike handling skills to recover his balance on the bike and power on towards the finish line.

Denmark’s Mikkel Bjerg set a fourth-best time at the finish line. Bjerg will also compete in the Olympic Road Race on August 3.

Tarling crossed the finish line in the next-best finishing time and squeezed Bissegger onto the bronzed hot seat. Brandon McNulty later nullified Bissegger’s chances of winning an Olympic Medal. 

Ganna set a new best time as he crossed the finish line. He was about to win gold, but Evenepoel blast across the finish line in a new best time. The Belgian powerhouse had won the gold medal in the Olympic Time Trial. What an impressive and admirable performance from 24-year-old Evenepoel who recently finished third in the general classification of this year’s Tour de France.

Remco Evenepoel won the Olympic gold medal for Belgium. Filippo Ganna took silver for Italy, while Wout van Aert won the bronze medal for Belgium. Joshua Tarling (Great Britain) finished fourth, while Brandon McNulty finished fifth for the United States.

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for complete road cycling coverage from the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

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