Remco Evenepoel, one of the favourites for Olympic time trial gold on Saturday, criticized the presence of numerous "holes" on the Paris roads which will stage the event.

"The first and last five kilometers are not the best roads unfortunately," the Belgian told broadcaster RTBF after carrying out his pre-race inspection.

"There are a lot of holes in the tarmac so it's not great for a time trial bike to ride on it."

However, he added: "Otherwise, it's super fast, the corners are fast too, and that's something that I like."

The 32.4km course will start at Invalides, take in the Bastille and Chateau de Vincennes before finishing on the spectacular Pont Alexandre which straddles the Seine.

The 24-year-old Evenepoel arrives at the Olympics fresh from finishing third on his maiden Tour de France.

Last August in Scotland, he became the first Belgian to be crowned time trial world champion.

On Saturday, his main rivals for gold are expected to be 20-year-old Josh Tarling of Britain and Filippo Ganna, the experienced Italian who was crowned world time trial champion in 2020 and 2021.