The "Olympics" are usually four years long. But exceptions prove the rule. The postponement of the Games in Tokyo from 2020 to 2021 has caused a lot of confusion, at least in this respect. Many athletes who wanted to end their careers with the highlight in Tokyo were also put to the test: Another year of agonising or a scheduled farewell without the highlight in Japan's capital.
For many who agonised, however, Tokyo was not the expected highlight, as the appeal of the Games was lost due to the numerous coronavirus restrictions that were still in place in Japan in the summer of 2021. Now, three years later, everything is set to improve again in Paris. While the rhythm is returning to its actual periodicity, there are also new features.
2024 Olympics: Same time trial course for women and men for the first time
This also applies to road cycling. For the first time in history, women and men will be cycling the same course in the Olympic time trial. It is 32.4 kilometres long and almost completely flat. Only 150 metres of elevation gain have to be completed. The number of starters will also be equalised for the first time. Fewer men, more women. There will be 35 of each gender.
The starting shot is fired in the park of the Hotel des Invalides. The finish line is just a few metres away on the Pont Alexandre III bridge. This is also where the Olympic triathletes finish.
Overall, the 2024 Olympic course not only has few metres of elevation gain, but also uses bends sparingly. The course is characterised by many long straights. One of these leads the riders, who all start one and a half minutes apart, to the Place de la Bastille. At this historic location, where today nothing reminds us of the fortress that gave it its name and whose storming was the prelude to the French Revolution, the time trial participants set course for the Bois de Vincennes, a Parisian urban forest. Once they have crossed it, they take a different route back to Place de la Bastille, but from there the last four and a half kilometres are identical to the outward route apart from the last bend.
The time trials at the 2024 Olympics will both take place directly on the day after the opening ceremony, i.e. on 27 July. Anyone with ambitions here will therefore avoid the opening ceremonies in order to be celebrated the following day with a medal around their neck.
Olympia 2024 Paris: The road races of the Olympic Games
While the women's time trial is relatively long, but only average in terms of distance for the men, the road races for both genders are really long. There are 90 riders at the start in both races. This means that the same principle applies as in the time trials: The men's peloton has been drastically shortened, but there are more women at the start.
Men's road race | 273 kilometres
A whopping 273 kilometres await the men at the 2024 Olympics in Paris - only Milan-San Remo is longer. None of the 22 Olympic road races to date have covered a greater distance. In addition to the length, there are 2800 metres of elevation gain, which are distributed relatively evenly over the entire course. The race therefore has a strong classic character, as the course, which runs for a considerable part through the Paris region, also has some sections with cobblestones, which are by no means comparable to those of the Olympic road race. Paris-Roubaix are comparable.
The race will start on 3 August and therefore on the middle weekend of the Games - in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. This is also where the competition ends. Before the field leaves the city in a south-westerly direction, various sights will be passed in the neutral phase. By the time they reach the Palace of Versailles, however, 19 sharp kilometres have already been completed.
In the south-western outskirts of Paris, various hills are then tackled, each about one kilometre long with an average gradient of between five and seven per cent. After 215 kilometres, the route returns to the city. A large part of the remaining route of the 2024 Olympics will then be completed on a circuit, the geographical and exciting highlight of which is the Cote de la Butte Montmatre. The 18.4-kilometre loop around the world-famous Sacre Coeur church in Paris will be ridden twice, and the climb will be tackled a third time before the final kilometres to the finish line at the Trocadero, which will be perfectly flat again.
Women's road race | 158 kilometres
At the 2024 Olympics, the women have a 158-kilometre programme that is only surpassed by a few races a year. They will race one day after the men, on 4 August.
The route out of the city and back in again, as well as the start and finish itself, correspond to the route for the men at the 2024 Olympics and only differ from Versailles onwards. Although the women will also pass through the town, they will not get to see the palace up close. This is because their route deviates from the route of their male counterparts - or rather, takes a shortcut. Essentially, they forgo the somewhat flatter start of the long loop and get straight down to business. They also have 1700 metres of elevation gain to complete - including the final laps over Montmartre.
