Primoz Roglic wins men's time trial after Annemiek van Vleuten lands women's gold

• Primoz Roglic wins men's Olympic time trial gold medal

• Tom Dumoulin finds silver lining; Dennis finishes third

• Annemiek van Vleuten lands gold in women's time trial

• Marlen Reusser takes silver; Van der Breggen bronze

Just over three weeks after bowing out of the Tour de France with his dreams of landing the biggest bike race in the world left in tatters, Primoz Roglic bounced back in the best way imaginable as the Slovenian won the men's time trial at the Tokyo Games.

Having struggled to make an impact in Saturday's road race where compatriot Tadej Pogacar took bronze, Roglic's form going into the 44.2-kilometre hilly course on the Fuji International Speedway circuit had been questioned by some. Having set the fastest time at the midway point, though, the question on most people's lips was 'could he sustain such a blistering pace?'. The answer was emphatic.

Not only did Roglic sustain that pace, but he found more and more time before eventually beating Tom Dumoulin by 1min 1sec. It was just one of a number of redemptive rides on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day Dutchwoman Annemiek van Vleuten responded to the ignominy of celebrating thinking she had landed gold in the road race to win her first Olympic title in the women's time trial, while Dumoulin's runners-up place provided the 30-year-old with a silver lining to what has been a very tough year for the Dutchman.

In January Dumoulin walked away from the sport, saying he had felt the pressure and needed to consider his future with many predicting the 2017 Giro d'Italia champion may follow in the footsteps of German spriter Marcel Kittel and quit cycling for good.

"Silver is beautiful," Dumoulin later said. "I overtrained in the winter and was quite down mentally. I came back and found out that I still loved to ride and could aim for big goals – especially this event. Primoz was on another planet today. If there's one person to beat me today then I am very happy that it's Primoz, he's just a really nice [trade] team-mate [at Jumbo-Visma]. Congratulations to him."

But whatever the subplots to what was a nail-biting day of racing, it was Roglic that deservedly took the plaudits for a perfectly executed ride. A ride that was too good for Rohan Dennis (Australia), the 2019 world champion who finished third, Stefan Küng (Switzerland), the reigning European time trial champion who was fourth and Filippo Ganna (Italy), the rainbow jersey holder who managed just fifth. In fact, no rider was able to get within a minute of Roglic whose dominant ride saw him win Slovenia's first Olympic cycling gold.

"From the start I went full speed ahead and fought for every kilometre. That was enough for the gold medal," Roglic said later. "For me it is very nice to win this race after such a difficult period. It was difficult to keep my head calm during difficult moments. Hard work, the support of my family and other close people, and believing in myself have dragged me through. That is now paying off with this medal. Every performance is special and so is this one. I am very happy.

"It's beautiful. This [medal] is quite heavy actually. I didn't know it. For me it's incredibly nice after the, let's say hard things that happened in the last moments to me," he added perhaps in reference to the dramatic time trial on La Planche des Belles Filles last year when ultimately lost the Tour de France to Pogacar.

Team GB's Geraint Thomas and Tao Geoghegan Hart finished 12th and 29th respectively, 2min 42sec and 6min 41sec behind Roglic.

08:08 AM

Roglic is crowned Olympic time trial champion!

World champion Filippo Ganna (Italy), who was the last man out on the course today, has completed his race in fifth place. As a result, Primoz Roglic (Slovenia) is crowned Olympic time trial champion.

Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands) takes silver medal and Rohan Dennis (Australia), who will reportedly join Jumbo-Visma next season, completes the podium. Dumoulin may have missed out on gold for a second consecutive Games, but he really ought to be pretty pleased with himself after walking away from the sport back in January.

08:06 AM

Küng misses out on medal

Stefan Küng narrowly misses out from taking third, while Rémi Cavagna finishes over three and a half minutes down on Primoz Roglic. That will be a very disappointing result for the Frenchman nicknamed 'The TGV', but appears to have ran out of steam today.

08:03 AM

Dennis in line for bronze

Rohan Dennis has completed his race, but could only manage third fastest, while Wout van Aert is off the pace and Filippo Ganna is going to struggle to overhaul Primoz Roglic's blistering time.

07:58 AM

Roglic powers into the lead

Tom Dumoulin had probably not even got off his bike and Primoz Roglic, riding with yet another wonky helmet, has put him in the shade by some distance. Kasper Asgreen, meanwhile, is third fastest.

07:54 AM

Dumoulin takes the hotseat

Tom Dumoulin sets the fastest time of the day with a quite superb ride, but I think he may be beaten soon by the likes of Primoz Roglic.

07:52 AM

Bevin sets decent time

Patrick Bevin sets the second fastest time of the day, just behind Rigoberto Urán but all of the favourites are still out on the road.

07:51 AM

Roglic regains composure

As the road rises up Primoz Roglic overtakes Kasper Asgreen for the second time today. The Slovenian, by the way, was over 40sec faster than Tom Dumoulin at the fifth and penultimate time split.

07:48 AM

Dennis speeds beyond Thomas

Rohan Dennis has passed Geraint Thomas, meanwhile Kasper Asgreen has overtaken Primoz Roglic which is quite strange. Has the Slovenian blown up, or did Asgreen find a second wind on the descent? We should know at the next time check.

07:44 AM

Roglic eats up Asgreen

Filippo Ganna appears to be shuffling around in his saddle quite a bit. Meanwhile, Primoz Roglic has just flown past Kasper Asgreen who started 1min 30sec befoer the Slovenian.

07:39 AM

Ganna third fastest at half-way point

Stefan Küng is sixth fastest at the midway point in the race, Wout van Aert is fifth quickest and world champion Filippo Ganna is third. This is going to be a nail-biting finale.

07:33 AM

Thomas off the pace

Geraint Thomas was not far off a minute slower than Primoz Roglic at the midway point in the race. That's not a great start from the Briton who crashed quite heavily during Saturday's road race.

07:31 AM

Roglic overhauls Dumoulin

Team-mates at Jumbo-Visma, but rivals today, Primoz Roglic has blown away Tom Dumoulin at the third split which comes at the midway point. The Slovenian was 8sec+ faster than the Dutchman.

07:27 AM

Dumoulin is flying

Tom Dumoulin is not slowing, the flying Dutchman completing the first lap in an average speed of 47.976kmh which also happens to be the fastest of the day. Dumoulin, as you will probably recall, was runner-up to Fabian Cancellara in this event at the Rio Games, can he match that result or even go one better and seal gold today?

07:24 AM

World champion Ganna starts well

Wout van Aert is over 4sec down on Primoz Roglic at the first split, but there's a long way to go yet. Worth noting that current race leader Rigoberto Urán was some way off the pace at the same point earlier. Filippo Ganna sets the fastest time at the first split.

07:20 AM

Dennis third at first split

Rohan Dennis, who has made this race one of his main targets of the season, was third fastest at the first split. Just hearing that Kasper Asgreen has lost his water bottle and, apparently, he is not allowed to take a new one from a team car and so that may cost him dearly. It's warm out there today and hydrating will be key.

07:17 AM

Roglic flying; Thomas is off the pace

Primoz Roglic was 3sec faster than Tom Dumoulin at the first split, while Geraint Thomas was eighth fastest at the same point over 25sec down on the Slovenian.

07:15 AM

Asgreen third fastest at first split

Danish champion Kasper Asgreen was third fastest at the first split. Going to be fascinating to see how the likes of Primoz Roglic, Rohan Dennis, Stefan Küng, Wout van Aert and Filippo Ganna compare.

07:13 AM

Dumoulin returns in blistering form

Wout van Aert, the best male all-rounder in the world right now, is out on the course but can he go as well as Tom Dumoulin who set the fastest time at the first split? What a great story this would be if the Dutchman who took time out of the sport to reassess his career were to bounce back with Olympic gold.

07:08 AM

Urán stuns the world

Remco Evenepoel, had barely taken the hotseat before he was shunted off by Rigoberto Urán. What a ride that was from the Colombian. But the big names are coming – Joao Almeida (Portugal), Kasper Asgreen (Denmark), Primoz Roglic (Slovenia), Geraint Thomas (Great Britain), Rohan Dennis (Australia), Rémi Cavagna (France) and

Stefan Küng (Switzerland) are all out on the course now. Wout van Aert (Belgium) and Filippo Ganna (Italy) to follow.

07:03 AM

Thomas rolls down the ramp

Geraint Thomas has got his race under way.

06:59 AM

Evenepoel takes the hotseat

Tobias Foss (Norway) was the first rider from the third and final wave of rider to get their time trial under way, while Patrick Bevin (New Zealand), Brandon McNulty (USA) and Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands) are also out on the course. It is Remco Evenepoel, however, who everybody is talking about for the time being after he blows away Hugo Houle with the fastest time of the day, while Alberto Bettiol is second fastest.

06:51 AM

Urán fastest at fourth split

Remco Evenepoel has gained another 20sec on Hugo Houle at the fifth split, but worryingly for the young Belgian a certain Rigoberto Urán is on his coattails and was actually 20 faster at the fourth split. This is some ride from Urán, the 34-year-old from Colombia.

06:44 AM

Evenepoel takes narrow lead

Remco Evenepoel edges ahead of Hugo Houle at the fourth time split, the Belgian leading by a tenth of a second.

06:38 AM

Urán rediscovers his legs

Colombian rider Rigoberto Urán is third fastest at the first split. As mentioned earlier, he won a hilly time trial at the Tour de Suisse last month before appearing on course for a podium finish at the Tour de France. However, a couple of poor days in the mountains put paid to his hopes in France but he looks to have rediscovered his legs here.

06:35 AM

Izagirre in trouble

Tao Geoghegan Hart is 1min 45sec down at the first lap. Not entirely sure what has happened to Ion Izagirre, but the Spaniard looks as if he is riding through treacle as the road rises slightly. I would be surprised if the Basque finishes this race, he may well bail in the pits.

06:26 AM

Evenepoel making inroads into Houle's lead

Remco Evenepoel has gained some time and has leapfrogged Alberto Bettiol by the second split. The Belgian was just over 4sec slower than Hugo Houle and is looking really good, as if pedalling with no chain. He's probably pushing a large gear, but his cadence is high and you could rest a glass of water on his back it is so perfectly flat.

06:18 AM

Bettiol starts strong

Lukas Kubis (Slovakia), Toms Skujins (Latvia), Patrick Konrad (Austria), Rigoberto Urán (Colombia), Alexey Lutsenko (Kazakhstan), Ion Izagirre (Spain), Maciej Bodnar (Poland), Aleksandr Vlasov (Russia) and Maximilian Schachmann (Germany) are all out on the course to complete the second wave of riders. There are some decent testers in here, Urán won the recent hilly time trial at the Tour de Suisse, Izagirre is the Spanish time trial champion and Bodnar is a former time trial winner at the Tour de France.

Alberto Bettiol was the fastest at the first split, while Remco Evenepoel was third quickest.

06:12 AM

Houle takes the hotseat

Tao Geoghegan Hart is around 38sec slower than Hugo Houle at the first split, while the Canadian has just completed his race and was the fastest of the day putting him into the hotseat. For those that are new to the sport or just follow it during the Olympics, the hotseat is where the race leader has to go and sit while their rivals complete their races.

06:03 AM

Forza Bettiol!

Alberto Bettiol is looking ridiculously relaxed. This rolling course may suit the Italian who has a huge engine on him. One suspects his team-mate here today Filippo Ganna will go better than Bettiol, but some have tipped the 2019 Tour of Flanders as a dark horse.

06:00 AM

Here come the Grenadiers . . .

Tao Geoghegan Hart, who is looking composed on his time trial bike, is followed by trade team colleague Richie Porte (Australia). It could be a good day for Ineos Grenadiers who will also have

Rohan Dennis and Filippo Ganna, the current world champion, in action today. Meanwhile, Belgian tyro Remco Evenepoel who won silver at the 2019 world championships is out on the course.

05:56 AM

Tao time

Tao Geoghegan Hart, the Team GB rider who crashed during Saturday's road race, has got his race under way. The Londoner, of course, won two stages at last year's Giro d'Italia before going on to take home the maglia rosa after beating Jai Hindley in the final-day time trial in Milan. The time trial, however, is not Geoghegan Hart's strongest discipline. It will be interesting to see how he copes today.

05:49 AM

And three of the slowest . . .

Ahmad Badreddin Wais, Saeeid Safarzadeh and Azzedine Lagab are all labouring with the three slowest times after one lap of the circuit, while Nicholas Roche was almost two minutes down on Hugo Houle.

05:41 AM

Three of the best

Stefan de Bod of South Africa is going well (28:26sec), but he is still slower than Hugo Houle (18.40,85sec) at the third split which is at the halfway point into the race. Nikias Arndt is third fastest (29:01sec).

05:29 AM

Houle sets early pace

Hugo Houle was fastest at the first split, a shade below three minutes quicker than Ahmad Badreddin Wais who was the slowest.

05:27 AM

Geoghegan Hart faces wait to get race started

Unlike the women's time trial and those we see in professional races, the men's field are setting off in blocks and so the next man down the ramp, Team GB rider Tao Geoghegan Hart, will set off at 6.56am (BST), a 38-minute gap between himself and Nelson Oliveira.

05:19 AM

New Zealand's Bennett sets off

George Bennett, the Kiwi climber, has set off. Despite not being the strongest time trial rider, the 31-year-old may do better than he would ordinarily expect thanks to the rolling nature of the course. Next off is Lawson Craddock (USA) and Nelson Oliveira (Portugal).

05:15 AM

Roche is Ireland's lone representative

Nicholas Roche, a former national time trial champion of Ireland, is looking focused as he hits the course. The 37-year-old has opted for clear glasses, while Czech Republic rider Michael Kukrle who followed Roche is not bothering with eye protection.

05:11 AM

Here come the WorldTour riders

Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Eritrea), Nikias Arndt (Germany), Stefan de Bod (South Africa), Hugo Houle (Canada) and Tanel Kangert (Estonia), all riders who ply their trade in the WorldTour, the top tier of professional cycling, are out on the road.

Incidentally, there are five points where time checks will be taken.

05:04 AM

Journey into the unknown

Saeeid Safarzadeh (Iran) is next out on course and was followed 90 seconds later by Azzedine Lagab of Algeria. I'm not going to lie, I don't know too much about the first three riders in today's race, but soon enough we will be seeing a number of familiar names from the WorldTour. The big favourites will start their races in an hour and three quarters.

05:00 AM

Second s out, round two . . .

A second cup of coffee and a bowl of Weetabix – four biscuits, by the way – and I'm ready for round two of today's time trial double header following Annemiek van Vleuten's gold-medal performance a short while ago. Ahmad Badreddin Wais, who was born in Syria but is representing the IOC Refugee Olympic team, was the first rider to roll down the starting ramp and onto the Fuji International Speedway circuit and the weather has changed a little from the women's race. Although it is still dry, there are some pillowy clouds overhead and the wind has whipped up a little, not ideal when riding a finely tuned time trial machine.

04:25 AM

Van Vleuten: I'm number one right?

This time there was no mistake. Annemiek van Vleuten is an Olympic champion – it is official!

The Dutchwoman, who mistakenly thought she had won the road race on Sunday, left nothing to chance as she romped to gold in the time trial, winning by a massive 56 seconds over 22.1km.

It was the sweetest of moments for the 38-year-old in her last Olympics – having suffered her fair share of heartache – and a boost for the Dutch team who were left red-faced on Sunday when they got their calculations all wrong.

The former time trial world champion was in a class of her own with Switzerland's Marlen Reusser the only other of the 25 starters to get within a minute of her 30:13.49.

Van Vleuten's team-mate Anna van der Breggen, the reigning world champion, finished with a bronze medal, 1:01.63 back.

A laughing Van Vleuten joked "I'm number one right" at the finish on the picturesque racing circuit – virtually what she said on Sunday when she crossed the line celebrating, not realising that Austrian breakaway rider Anna Kiesenhofer had beaten her by more than a minute.

There was crushing disappointment though for American Chloe Dygert who despite being tipped as a favourite, finished down in seventh place, more than two minutes behind.

Dygert, who in 2019 became the youngest road time trial world champion, suffered a horrific crash in the 2020 world championship in Imola with a deep laceration on her thigh that required surgery.

She was well off her usual pace and looked in physical distress at the finish.

Van Vleuten is the second Dutchwoman to win the women's individual time trial at the Games, after Leontien Martha Zijlaard-van Moorsel in 2000 and 2004.

The last three editions were won by American Kristin Armstrong who is now Dygert's coach. Reuters

03:38 AM

Van Vleuten wins Olympic gold!

Three days after suffering the ignominy of celebrating her silver medal in the women's road race thinking she had landed gold, Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands) has sealed the time trial title with a dominant display on the Fuji International Speedway circuit.

Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) takes silver and Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands) will take home bronze from her final race at the Olympics before she retires from racing at the end of the season.

03:35 AM

Over to you, Anna . . .

Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) takes second spot, knocking Grace Brown (Australia) down to third. With Chloe Dygert (USA) well off the pace, only Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands) can have any say in the running order of the podium now.

03:33 AM

Brown looking for silver lining

Grace Brown of Australia is the second fastest, currently in line for a silver medal having knocked Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio down to third.

03:30 AM

Van Vleuten on course for gold?

Annemiek van Vleuten has absolutely destroyed the field, going a massive 1min 12.64sec faster than Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio. That is some performance from the Dutchwoman who gives the thumbs up to the television cameras before rolling over to a member of the Dutch cycling squad for a quick de-brief and a cold drink.

03:28 AM

Moolman-Pasio the new leader

Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio has set the new fastest time, while Anna van der Breggen is way off the pace of compatriot Annemiek van Vleuten, though currently sits in the berth of bronze.

03:27 AM

Flying Dutchwoman Van Vleuten eating up rivals

Annemiek van Vleuten catches her three-minute woman Emma Norsgaard and is leaving it all out on the road – not wasting an ounce of energy as she makes herself as small as possible in order to slice her way through the air towards, potentially, her first Olympic gold.

03:22 AM

Dygert well off the pace

Big shock here. Chloe Dygert was almost a minute down (51.82sec) on Annemiek van Vleuten at the first time split. Meanwhile, Frenchwoman Juliette Labous has gone 19.45sec faster than Sarah Gigante to take the hotseat – though one suspects that may be changing again quite soon.

03:20 AM

Big ride from young Aussie

Sarah Gigante has set the fastest time of the day thus far, completing her race in 33:01.60sec, 6.37 seconds faster than Karol-Ann Canuel.

03:15 AM

Alizada completes historic ride

Masomah Alizada has completed her race and was warmly received by the crowds in the stands. Chapeau.

03:14 AM

Van Vleuten is flying

The 46-year-old Amber Neben (USA) set a new fastest time at the first split, but she was blown out of the water by Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands) by around 28sec!

03:12 AM

Moolman-Pasio going well

Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio is the fastest at the first time split. Elisa Longo Borghini was 19sec slower than the South African at the same point, was expecting better than that from the Italian but her race is far from over. Incidentally, the course is dry but there are plenty of dark clouds on the horizon which will be a concern for the men later.

03:09 AM

Team GB rider Shackley leads time trial... briefly

Anna Shackley set the fastest time of the day, but just seconds after the Scot rolled over the line Karol-Ann Canuel beat her by 1min 5sec.

03:07 AM

Van der Breggen the last women on the road

The last three riders in the women's time trial – Marlen Reusser (Switzerland), Chloe Dygert (USA) and Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands) – have started their respective races. Dygert did one of the best time trials in recent memory at the world championships in Harrogate in 2019 when she stunned the Dutch before the following year crashing out in Imola. Van der Breggen went on to prevail in Italy, but how will these two fare today?

03:02 AM

Canada set the early benchmark

Leah Kirchmann sets the new fastest time at the first split, beating fellow Canadian Karol-Ann Canuel by a couple of seconds. Meanwhile, Lisa Brennauer (Germany) has rolled down the ramp.

03:00 AM

Van Vleuten chasing gold

Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands), the former world time trial champion, is rolling in what will probably be her final outing at the Olympics. Next down the ramp is 29-year-old Aussie Grace Brown.

02:59 AM

Here come the gig guns . . .

Alena Amialiusik (Belarus), Anna Plichta (Poland), Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (South Africa), Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy), Emma Norsgaard (Denmark) and Amber Neben (USA) are on the course as some of the biggest names in women's cycling get their 'race of truth' under way. Neben, by the way, is 46 and has targeted this race for some time.

Norsgaard, meanwhile, is wearing one of those odd looking helmets that the Danish team pursuit squad used at last year's track world championships, EF Education-Nippo riders often use them too.

02:53 AM

Alizada battling on

Masomah Alizada is just spotted tackling the climb and she does not look too comfortable as she battles with gravity, but quite frankly who cares. She has overcome bigger obstacles than this.

02:51 AM

Canada's Canuel off to fast start

Christine Majerus (Luxembourg), who has over 20 national road and time trial titles, has started her race, as has Mavi García (Spain), Leah Kirchmann (Canada), Lisa Klein (Germany), Juliette Labous (France) and Alena Amialiusik (Belarus).

Anna Shackley was the fastest rider at the first time split that comes on the first climb of the day, but the Briton was soon overhauled by Karol-Ann Canuel.

02:44 AM

Spots of rain out on the course

Eri Yonamine, the six-time Japanese time trial champion, Sarah Gigante, a two-time Australian national time trial champion, and Omer Shapira (Israel), herself a multiple national champion and Katrine Aalerud (Norway) have all rolled down the starting ramp. There are a few drops of rain out on the course which may play a key role in how this race plays out if those spits and spots turn into something a little heavier.

02:39 AM

Watching brief

As we saw at the men's and women's road races over the weekend, fans are allowed to watch the action from the stands lining the Fuji International Speedway circuit

02:36 AM

Shackley out on the road

Masomah Alizada is riding on the drops as of her road bike as opposed to the specialist time trial machines that I imagine the rest of the 24-rider field will be using. Julie Van de Velde (Belgium) and Team GB rider Anna Shackley are also out on the course now. Shackley, incidentally, rides for trade team SD Worx and aged 20, made her Olympic debut on Sunday in the women's road race.

Karol-Ann Canuel (Canada) has also hot her race started.

02:30 AM

And we're off!

Masomah Alizada, the 25-year-old who was born in Afghanistan but fled to France after being threatened by the Taliban for having the temerity to ride a bicycle, has got her race under way. Nobody is especially expecting the rider who is competing for the IOC Refugee Olympic team to tear up any trees here, but she is doing something much more important than that today, as she explained when her participation in the Tokyo Games was confirmed.

"For my country, I think that I am the only girl who is going to take part in the Olympic Games in cycling," she said. "I want to show all the men who thought that cycling isn't a women's thing, that I have made it all the way through to the Olympics. And if I can do it, any woman who wants to be involved in cycling, they can do it, from any country, like Afghanistan. It’s quite simply a passion, it’s our choice to wear any kind of clothing, whatever we feel comfortable in."

What an inspirational young woman Masomah Alizada is for us all.

01:01 AM

Morning

Hello, and welcome to our live rolling blog from the individual time trial races at the Tokyo Olympic Games, the men's and women's events on the Fuji International Speedway circuit in Japan.

The first race of the day, the 22.1-kilometre women's time trial, gets under way at 3.30am (BST) when Masomah Alizada, the Afghanistan-born rider who is competing for the IOC Refugee Olympic team, rolls down the starting ramp. The remaining 24 athletes will follow at 1min 30sec intervals with world champion Anna van der Breggen starting at 4.06am.

Following a short break when, presumably, the women's medal ceremony will take place, the 44.2km men's race starts at 6am when Ahmad Badreddin Wais of Syria kicks off proceedings, before 38 riders follow, again at 1min 30sec intervals, with Filippo Ganna, the time trial specialist who won the world title on home turf in Imola, Italy, last year, being the final competitor rolls down the ramp.

Both races will be contested on the same course, the difference between the two being that the men's time trial is twice as long as the women's event. The competitors will know the route already, either from the pre-race reconnoitre rides they have done, and for some from the Olympic road races that featured the Fuji International Speedway circuit on which the medals will be won later today.

Lumpy with around 420 metres of vertical elevation per circuit, but not mountainous. Twisty but not too technical, the course appears ideal for a powerhouse, but one that is not afraid to climb.

Following their disappointment in the women's road race, Annemiek van Vleuten and Van der Breggen will be hoping to restore a little bit of national pride following a chastening few days for the Dutch.

After underestimating Anna Kiesenhofer in the women's road race, Mathieu van der Poel missed out in the mountain bike cross country when he crashed heavily on a rock drop section of the race that was eventually won by Team GB rider Tom Pidcock. Subsequently, a Dutch BMX rider crashed into an official during a training session on the course, while somewhat alarmingly was, reportedly, pulled from her time trial bike by a security worker during her and her team's reconnoitre ride on Tuesday. It has not been the best of Games for the Dutch who have won just one medal from four events.

Despite being tipped as favourites by many Van der Breggen and Van Vleuten can expect a stern test from a strong-looking field of riders, including the 2019 world time trial champion Chloe Dygert. The American crashed during last year's world championships in Imola and has raced just twice since, when she won last month's US national championships an at Sunday's road race, and so some have questioned her form. However, after being dropped and appearing to be out of contention in the road race, the 24-year-old clawed her way back suggesting she may have the legs to take home gold.

The men's race, meanwhile, will be fiercely contested with Ganna hoping to add Olympic gold to the rainbow jersey he won on the Imola circuit in September last year. In a filed that includes, among others, Wout van Aert (Belgium), Stefan Küng (Switzerland), Rémi Cavagna (France), Rohan Dennis (Australia), Primoz Roglic (Slovenia), Kasper Asgreen (Denmark) and Geraint Thomas (Great Britain) it is no given that Ganna will become the first Italian to win the title or, indeed, their first medal of any colour in the men's event.

Live coverage gets under way at 3.30am (BST).