On a gray and rainy day in the French capital city, the men's field tackled the same course as the women's field in the individual time trial.
This was the first time in Olympic history that the men's and women's fields used the same course for the individual time trial, with the men's race taking place immediately after the women's from 16:30 to 18:00 Paris time.
The time trial course featured a flat 32.4km route which took off from the Esplanade des Invalides and finished at the Pont Alexandre III bridge. The course included iconic Parisian landmarks such as Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Place de la Bastille, and Château de Vincennes. The course also contained intermediate time checks at the 13.1-kilometer and 22-kilometer marks.
Alberto Bettiol of Italy set the standard early, putting in a strong ride under the rain, with Ryan Mullen of Ireland soon taking the lead followed by Karel Vacek of Czechia who would quickly capture the lead from Mullen finishing just under 2 seconds faster.
Joshua Tarling of Great Britain, one of the favorites going into the day to capture gold, had mechanical issues with his bike. Magnus Sheffield of the United States of America had a disappointing fall on the stage, also delaying his arrival to the line on the day.
Stefan Bisseger, a top time trialist, took over the lead on his finish, putting in a great ride on a day in which he came in looking to capture a medal. Belgian Wout van Aert, a favorite to take gold, put in a great ride and set the leading pace above Bisseger in a time of 36:37.
Tarling would come in after van Aert second fastest at that point. This would be particularly disappointing for the 20-year-old British rider who was hampered by mechanical issues in the early kilometers of the time trial. Filippo Ganna of Italy would come in with a strong rider, finishing in a time of 36:27.
Despite other riders best efforts, Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel, another one of the favorites on the day, came in and put in an outstanding effort on the stage to claim the gold medal for Belgium in a time of 36:12. Filippo Ganna would secure the silver medal at the men's individual time trial for his efforts, while Evenepoel's fellow Belgian coutryman would be the bronze medal winner.
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