By DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer
The conclusion to the Tour de France last Sunday in Nice, where Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar became a three-time champion by dominating rival Jonas Vingegaard and the rest of the field, has sent some of the world’s best cyclists into the road race at the Paris Olympics in the best possible shape.
For others, the race is on to recover from three grueling weeks in time for Saturday’s time trial.
The cycling schedule was altered for this Summer Games, and the traditional road race that starts the program was pushed back to give riders competing in it a longer break. But to make the revised schedule work, the time trial was pushed ahead to the day after the opening ceremony, which means many riders from the Tour will still have wobbly legs.
The biggest among them is Remco Evenepoel, the 24-year-old from Belgium who won the first of the Tour’s two time trials and went on to finish third in the overall. But after Pogacar withdrew from the Olympics, citing fatigue, the race against the clock is wide open, especially given how little time riders have to recover from their trek through the French countryside.
“The big three are Filippo Ganna, Remco and Josh Tarling,” said Brandon McNulty, the American time trial champion, who did not compete in the Tour and hopes his fresh legs can carry him to his nation’s first medal in the men’s time trial since 2008.
After a pause, McNulty kept on going, throwing out Stefan Kueng of Switzerland as another podium contender. Belgium’s Wout van Aert also could be in the mix, provided he has recovered from seven top-10 finishes during the Tour.
Belgium’s Wout van Aert crosses the finish of the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race, an individual time trial over 33.7 kilometers (20.9 miles) with start in Monaco and finish in Nice, France, Sunday, July 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
The race begins at Invalides and ends at the gilded bridge of Pont Alexandre III. All the riders will pass by Notre Dame, the Place de la Bastille and the former royal residence at Chateau de Vincennes, along with several more of Paris’ iconic sites.
One they will avoid: the Champs-Elysée, the historic thoroughfare where the Tour typically finishes but has been taken over during the Olympics and forced the second of the three Grand Tours to finish in Nice.
“It’s pretty flat, a few corners, but it’s pretty simple overall,” McNulty said. “Some bumpy roads and stuff, but fast.”
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That could play into the hands of American time trial world champion Chloe Dygert in the women’s race.
The 27-year-old from Brownsburg, Indiana, has overcome a lot to become the favorite to win gold in Paris. Dygert was in a career-threatening crash at the world championships in 2020 that derailed her plans to race for gold the following year at the Tokyo Games, then dealt with a series of injuries and illnesses along with some off-the-bike-hurdles in her personal life.
“Looking back at Rio in 2016, I took everything for granted,” said Dygert, who helped the U.S. win silver in the team pursuit in the velodrome that year. “I remember Rio better than Tokyo because I was happier and healthier. I respected and felt so much more grateful for being able to go to Tokyo after my accident. I realized and understood better that being selected for the Olympics is such an accomplishment and that it’s such a massive dream for everyone.”
The bigger dream is to win gold, though. Dygert also has a bronze medal from the team pursuit at the Tokyo Games.
Yet the path to the top step of the podium remains a daunting one in Paris.
Dygert’s biggest challenge could come from Ellen van Dijk of the Netherlands, who gave birth to her first child in October and returned to racing in March, only to break her ankle while training in June. The three-time world time trial champion decided a few weeks ago that she was in good enough shape to race in Paris.
“It doesn’t bother me on the bike and that’s the most important thing,” said van Dijk, who was left off the time trial team for Tokyo and watched compatriots Annemiek van Vleuten and Anna van der Breggen take gold and bronze, respectively.
“I haven’t had an ideal preparation and that may affect (my race),” van Dijk added, “but in the end I feel good and I’m going to give it my all. I want to enjoy it, because being here is special as it is.”