The 24-year-old from Belgium, is one of the favourites for Olympic gold cycling and has the added encouragement of finishing third in his first Tour de France, a career accolade for a man who has also won the Vuelta Ciclista a Espana.

What worries him here are the potholes he has noticed in the streets of Paris, where the event will take place. One of the peculiarities of these Olympic Games is that, beyond the specific facilities, the whole city becomes the stage: just as the Opening Ceremony will be held on the Seine - the first in Olympic history to be held outside the stadium - the streets of the French capital will be traversed by cyclists. 

The 32.4km route will start at the Invalides, pass the Bastille and the Chateau de Vincennes before finishing at the spectacular Pont Alexandre on the banks of the Seine.

It's a 'super-fast' course with lots of bends, which he likes, despite the fact that the potholes in the asphalt of a busy city are not the best option for a time trial. Unfortunately, the first and last five kilometres are not the best roads," the Belgian told RTBF after his pre-race inspection. Last August in Scotland, he became the first Belgian to win the world time trial title.

His main rivals for gold on Saturday are expected to be 20-year-old British rider Josh Tarling and Filippo Ganna, the experienced Italian who will be world time trial champion in 2020 and 2021.

Debut

Evenepoel will make his debut in Paris in the time trial on Saturday 27 July, the day after the opening of the Olympic Games. He is scheduled to start at 16:32 and will have to cover 32.4 km with only 150 metres of elevation gain.

The young cyclist will also take part in the men's road race a week later, on Saturday 3 August, over a 273-kilometre course with a total elevation gain of 2,800 metres, starting and finishing at the symbolic Place du Trocadéro.