The postponement of the Olympics Tokyo in a year it has accelerated the entire sports metabolism enormously. What we are experiencing, which was supposed to be the post-Olympic year, for many a necessary "soft" transition, a season to be taken in a relaxed manner, is instead already an important piece in the construction of the next five-ring adventure., Paris 2024Just think of the Track Cycling World Cup which forced many big names, Ganna in the lead, to hastily leave the road races to "qualify" for the world championships which will provide important points for the Olympic ranking.
We are also working on an organizational level. Paris 2024 Much is already known about the cycling portion of the big event. The general calendar was announced in recent days, and each sport will then work around it to build its own program. Speaking of road cycling, there is already some important news.
We start with the time trials
Compared to Tokyo, the schedule was reversed and spread out more. The men's road race, which since Athens 2004 has been the central event of the first day of finals, gives way to the men's time trialFilippo Ganna will therefore shoulder the burden of the entire Italian expedition. He will launch the pursuit of the "road to 50," as the overall goal of Italian sport has been dubbed, following the successes of Japan. The race program on Saturday 27 July will see the women compete first, followed by the men, starting at 2:30 pm on the same day.
The race route will start at Invalides and finish at Pont Alexandre III, for a route entirely in the city centre.It will be a completely flat route, without many curves and ups and downs, which will therefore be more suited to the champion of the Ineos Grenadiers compared to the one in Tokyo, with the ability to develop the maximum horsepower in your engine.
As mentioned, the gap between the time trial and road races, which will take place the following weekend, is widening. which means there will be at least two weeks of space between them and the end of the Tour de France (among other things with its deadline always in Paris, provided that the Olympic preparations do not force theASO to a different solution). The women's race is expected to take place on Saturday, August 3rd, and the men's the following day, but the UCI still has to make a decision on this.
The Pont d'Iena, the epicenter of time trials A rare photo from 1930 with the Pont Alexandre III The Esplanade des Invalides, the starting point of the road races
The Pont d'Iena, the epicenter of time trials A rare photo from 1930 with the Pont Alexandre III The Esplanade des Invalides, the starting point of the road races
A path to be interpreted
Here the discussion regarding the race track, still under construction, is important. However, a first draft has been under consideration by the IOC since the end of last year and a decision has already been made on some aspects.First of all the epicenter of the race will be at Pont d'Iena, in front of the Eiffel Tower, a space 155 meters long and 35 meters wide where special stands will be built to watch a series of sporting events: here, in addition to the start and finish of the road races, the athletics walking competitions will also take place.
After departure, the race route will initially develop in the city centre, but on a wider radius than the traditional one of the final carousel of the Grande BoucleWe will then head to the Yvelines department to return to Paris and tackle a circuit including the climb up the Trocadero. Those who have seen the drafts speak of a generally smooth route, without major altimetric difficulties.This last tear, however, especially if repeated, could be painful.
Armand Blanchonnet, gold medalist at the 1924 Paris Olympics in cycling The French team team gold: Leducq Wambst, Blanchonnet, Hamel and Bocher
Armand Blanchonnet, gold medalist at the 1924 Paris Olympics in cycling The French team won team gold: here Wambst, Blanchonnet and Hamel (individual bronze)
Are the quotas decreasing?
If we combine this with the fact that, as always happens in Olympic cycling, National teams will be composed of a smaller number of riders than in normal trials, it's clear that keeping the race under control and focusing everything on a general sprint could be a grave mistake. Furthermore, there's another important aspect to consider.
The Paris edition of the Games will represent a further step forward in the gender equality project. This means that an equal number of male and female athletes will qualify for the road cycling events. The maximum contingent for men's teams could therefore drop from 5 to 4 riders, making any team play almost impossible., unless those agreements are drawn up that are more closely linked to club membership than to national team membership.
So far so good. There is still a lot to do and it must also be said that two seasons in the world of cycling represent an eternity., a space where new talents can emerge and others disappear. In the meantime, however, it's right to make our own considerations, especially from an Italian perspective, considering that all disciplines will be called upon to contribute in the pursuit of a new medal record and a place in the top 10, an Italian prerogative since Atlanta 1996.
