Following a colourful opening on Friday, the Paris Olympics cycling competitions are taking place on the second day. First off the cycling charts are the men’s and women’s individual time trials.

However, coming right after the 2024 Tour de France, this year’s Games have been affected by the notable absence of several top cyclists.

Tadej Pogačar of Slovenia, who made history by winning both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, has announced his withdrawal from the Paris Olympics due to exhaustion. Joining Pogačar on the no-show list is Richard Carapaz, the bronze medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, who was not selected by Ecuador, and silver medalist Wout van Aert.

Primož Roglič, the individual time trial champion from Tokyo, will not defend his title, and his fellow medalists, Tom Dumoulin and Rohan Dennis, have since retired. This leaves Wout van Aert as the only returning men’s road medalist for Paris 2024.

On the women’s side, none of the Tokyo time trial medalists will compete in Paris. Gold medalist Annemiek van Vleuten and bronze medalist Anna van der Breggen have retired, while silver medalist Marlen Reusser has withdrawn due to post-viral syndrome.

However, Anna Kiesenhofer, the champion of the Tokyo road race, will be back to defend her title. Elisa Longo Borghini, the bronze medalist from Tokyo, is considered a strong contender for the Paris Games. Annemiek van Vleuten, who won silver in 2021, will not compete this year.

In mountain biking, Tom Pidcock is set to defend his title in the men’s cross-country event, with Tokyo silver medalist Mathias Flückiger of Switzerland and bronze medalist David Valero of Spain as his main competitors.

On the women’s side, defending champion Jolanda Neff has withdrawn due to breathing problems and will be replaced by last year’s silver medalist Sina Frei. Linda Indergand, another key member of Switzerland’s historic medal sweep, will also be absent from the lineup.