261 KM TO GO: BREAK WAS MORE THAN THREE MINUTES

Those three early escapees – Eric Manizabayo from Rwanda, Thanakhan Chaiyasombat from Thailand and Christophe Rougier-Lagane from Mauritius – have been joined by two more – Achraf Ed Doghmy from Morocco and Charles Kagimu from Uganda. That quintet is now 3’20” above the group.

HERE’S WHAT’S WAITING FOR THE DRIVERS

With 13 climbs and a total elevation gain of 2,800m, this route not only echoes the Flemish Classics but also showcases what Paris has to offer beyond the usual playground of the Champs-Élysées, while satisfying your cravings.

The men’s race, which starts in the upscale Trocadéro district, is 273km long and includes 10 climbs on a twisty loop southwest of the French capital, one of which squeezes six climbs into 40km. But the final hour of the race gets exciting with three loops of an urban circuit in the famous hilltop village of Montmartre.

Three times, racers will negotiate the narrow one-kilometre course, which runs to the partly cobbled Rue Lepic, home to Amélie’s famous Les Deux Moulins café, before heading past the Sacré Cœur basilica and up two challenging ramps east of the Canal Saint-Martin, before returning.

If it’s a challenging course that takes riders off the well-trodden tourist track, then the third climb of the “Côte d’Amélie” is followed by a fast and technical switchback through the traditional heart of Paris, past the Opéra and the Louvre, before a flat run along the Seine before a finish in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. It’s bold, it’s brave – and it can be won by some of the best riders in the business.

273 KM TO GO: THEY ARE TAKING ACTION!

The first attack comes at kilometer zero, as the peloton completes the neutral zone in central Paris. The only Rwandan rider in the race – Eric Manizabayo – has the honour, and he does so with a smile on his face. He is joined by Thanakhan Chaiyasombat from Thailand and Christophe Rougier-Lagane from Mauritius.

But the gap between them and the other 87 riders in the peloton is slim, so they may not last very long.

OLYMPIC ROAD RACE TIME

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympic road race. It’s the longest course of the modern era and the smallest entrant, so we can expect unpredictable racing on the 13 climbs that dot the route.