Rio 2016 announces road cycling time trial course for Olympic Games
Pontal Beach to provide famous setting, while road race will start and finish at the iconic Fort Copacabana
The Olympic road cycling time trial always draws large crowds to the finish line (Getty Images/Bryn Lennon)
The Rio 2016 Organising Committee announced a new Olympic Games venue on Thursday (8 January). Pontal, located in the west of the city, will be the stage for the road cycling time trial event. It takes the total number of venues in the Barra zone to 15.
The temporary venue will host the men’s and women’s time trial races, in which riders leave the starting line individually, every 90 seconds, with the cyclist who completes the course in the fastest time winning the gold medal.
The time trial course will stretch for 29.8km through the picturesque neighbourhood of Grumari and will feature two climbs/descents, one through a forested area. The women will race over one lap while the men will complete nearly two laps, totalling 54.5km.
Pontal Beach was celebrated in a popular Brazilian song called Do Leme ao Pontal (From Leme to Pontal) by Tim Maia. The time trial course will start and finish in Tim Maia Square by Pontal Beach.
The time trial event moves to Pontal from Fort Copacabana, which will now stage the start and finish of road cycling’s other event, the road race (along with the triathlon, paratriathlon and marathon swimming competitions).
The road race, whose start/finish moves to Copacabana from Flamengo Park, will be 256.4km for men and 130.3 km for women. It will pass by some of Rio most iconic locations, such as Copacabana, Ipanema, São Conrado, Barra da Tijuca, Grumari and the Tijuca Forest.
With the men racing on 6 August 2016, and the women competing the following day, the cycling road race will be one of the first medal events of the Rio 2016 Games, which will officially begin with the opening ceremony on 5 August.
With long flat coastal stretches and steep climbs and descents, the road race promises to test the world’s best riders in a majestic setting. It will include the Grumari circuit (three laps for men, one for women) and a climb and descent in the Tijuca Forest, in a section called the Canoas/Vista Chinesa Circuit (three laps for men, one for women). This section will pass the Vista Chinesa monument, which offers one of the best viewing points in Rio.
