Remco Evenepoel and his Belgian teammates, along with most of the top riders in the road race at the Paris Olympics, rode slowly in a group earlier this week as they previewed the course for Saturday.
The finishing circuit through the busy tourist area of Montmartre, where the Sacre Coeur basilica stands prominently, was supposed to be closed for their ride.
However, due to too many pedestrians and heavy traffic, the cyclists had to settle for a controlled 30 kph (18 mph) view of what might be a crucial part of the course.
The top favorite in the men’s race chose not to join the recon ride.
Mathieu van der Poel went to the countryside for a training session instead. He later told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad that he didn’t think it was worth “sacrificing an entire afternoon to cycle around at a tourist pace.”
“I don’t find that very useful,” he said. “There are plenty of videos of the course.” Van der Poel and the other riders will certainly be riding much faster than “tourist pace” when the race for medals begins.
Traditionally, the men’s and women’s road races start the cycling events at the Summer Games, but the schedule was different for Paris.
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