Olympic Cycling: Men's and women's time trials preview

The road racing at the Olympic Games will conclude with the men’s and women’s individual time trials on Wednesday.

The events are among the most prestigious races in cycling and this year take place on a hilly course in and around Rio.

Here is everything you need to know….

Olympic cycling schedule

Dates and times of every road, track, BMX and mountain bike race

WHEN DOES IT TAKE PLACE?

Both races are on Wednesday, August 10. The women's is from 12.30pm to 1.44pm, while the men's is from 2pm to 4.55pm (all times BST).

THE ROUTE

Both the men's and women's races take place on the Grumari Circuit, which was also used at the weekend in the road races.

The men do two laps of the circuit on a course totalling 54.6km, while the women do one lap and a total distance of 29.9km.

Here are the profiles…

The circuit contains two climbs, which the men will tackle twice and the women just once. Here are the profiles of the Grumari and then the Grota Funda…

THE FAVOURITES - MEN

CHRIS FROOME

Age: 31. Nationality: British. Sky Bet odds: 6/5.

Froome had been second favourite for victory before Tom Dumoulin broke his arm at the Tour de France, but he is now widely regarded as the man to beat. Having finished second and first in the two time trials at the Tour, Froome is in excellent time-trialling form and the hilly course appears to suit him perfectly.

TOM DUMOULIN

Age: 25. Nationality: Dutch. Sky Bet odds: 6/4.

Dumoulin also finished first and second in the two time trials at the Tour, but he then broke his left radius in an innocuous fall on stage 19 and his Olympic ambitions were suddenly thrown into doubt. He quickly resumed training, but it remains to be seen what impact the injury has on his performance. Like Froome, the hilly course suits him well.

TONY MARTIN

Age: 31. Nationality: German. Sky Bet odds: 9/1.

Martin is a three-time world time trial champion but hasn't won an international time trial in more than a year and is also poorly suited to the hilly Rio course. However, he should do well on the flatter sections and a medal is therefore not out of the question.

ROHAN DENNIS

Age: 26. Nationality: Australian. Sky Bet odds: 8/1.

Like Martin, Dennis is a time-trialling specialist who is better-suited to flatter courses than a hilly route such as Rio and is consequently more likely to target winning a medal rather than the gold outright.

VASIL KIRYIENKA

Age: 35. Nationality: Belarusian. Sky Bet odds: 14/1.

Kiryienka is the reigning world time trial champion but has performed poorly against the clock this year and will need to up his game if he is to threaten the Olympic podium. That said, he climbs well and the long distance of the Rio course should play to his strengths.

THE FAVOURITES - WOMEN

ANNA VAN DER BREGGEN

Age: 26. Nationality: Dutch. Sky Bet odds: 15/8.

Van der Breggen is aiming to become only the second rider in history - male or female - to win both the road race and time trial at the same Olympic Games, and she is the bookmakers' favourite to do so. She is excellent on both the flat and climbs, so the hilly Rio course will suit her well.

LINDA VILLUMSEN

Age: 31. Nationality: New Zealand. Sky Bet odds: 7/2.

Villumsen is the reigning world time-trial champion, having beaten Van der Breggen to the rainbow jersey by just two seconds in Richmond last September. She should be in the mix for a medal but doesn't climb as well as Van der Breggen (she finished only 23rd in Sunday's road race) and therefore gold could be a big ask.

LISA BRENNAUER

Age: 28. Nationality: German. Sky Bet odds: 6/1.

Brennauer is a strong and consistent time-triallist but tends to prefer flat courses to hilly routes such as Rio's. She should challenge for a medal but bronze is perhaps the best she can hope for.

EVELYN STEVENS

Age: 33. Nationality: American. Sky Bet odds: 13/2.

Although at longer odds than Villumsen and Brennauer, Stevens is a more likely candidate to deny Van der Breggen gold courtesy of the fact she is an excellent time-triallist and, crucially, can also climb well. Stevens beat Van der Breggen by four seconds in the 21.9km time trial at last month's Giro d'Italia and the pair could be in for a big battle once again.

EMMA POOLEY

Age: 33. Nationality: British. Sky Bet odds: 25/1.

Pooley is a climber who likes the Rio course so much that she came out of retirement specifically for this race. She hasn't taken part in many major time trials since returning to the sport and her results have been patchy (she was 13th in the Giro d'Italia time trial), but she looked in good form in Sunday's road race and will be fired up on a course that looks made for her.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION

Join our live blog from 12.30pm BST.

PAST WINNERS

MEN

2012: Bradley Wiggins (GB).
2008: Fabian Cancellara (Sui).
2004: Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus)
2000: Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus)
1996: Miguel Indurain (Esp).

WOMEN

2012: Kristin Armstrong (USA).
2008: Kristin Armstrong (USA).
2004: Leontien van Moorsel (Ned).
2000: Leontien Zijlaard (Ned).
1996: Zulfiya Zabirova (Rus).

START LIST

All times BST.

MEN

2.00:00pm: Dan Craven (Nam)
2.01:30pm: Youcef Reguigui (Alg)
2.03:00pm: Ahmet Orken (Tur)
2.04:30pm: Ghader Mizbani Iranagh (Irn)
2.06:00pm: Mouhssine Lahsaini (Mor)
2.07:30pm: Yonathan Monsalve (Ven)
2.09:00pm: Pavel Kochetkov (Rus)
2.10:30pm: Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg)
2.12:00pm: Chris Juul-Jensen (Den)
2.13:30pm: Georg Preidler (Aut)
2.15:00pm: Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra)
2.16:30pm: Andriy Grivko (Ukr)
2.18:00pm: Simon Geschke (Ger)
2.19:30pm: Brent Bookwalter (USA)
2.21:00pm: Andrey Zeits (Kaz)
2.22:30pm: Damiano Caruso (Ita)
2.24:00pm: Leopold Konig (Cze)
2.25:30pm: Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol)
2.27:00pm: Tim Wellens (Bel)
3.15:00pm: Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor)
3.16:30pm: Hugo Houle (Can)
3.18:00pm: Geraint Thomas (GB)
3.19:30pm: Julian Alaphilippe (Fra)
3.21:00pm: Primoz Roglic (Slo)
3.22:30pm: Jonathan Castroviejo (Esp)
3.24:00pm: Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr)
3.25:30pm: Maciej Bodnar (Pol)
3.27:00pm: Jan Barta (Cze)
3.28:30pm: Nelson Oliveira (Por)
3.30:00pm: Rohan Dennis (Aus)
3.31:30pm: Ion Izagirre (Esp)
3.33:00pm: Taylor Phinney (USA)
3.34:30pm: Fabian Cancellara (Sui)
3.36:00pm: Tony Martin (Ger)
3.37:30pm: Vasil Kiryienka (Blr)
3.39:00pm: Tom Dumoulin (Ned)
3.40:30pm: Chris Froome (GB)

WOMEN

12.30:00pm: Anna Plichta (Pol)
12.31:30pm: Lotte Kopecky (Bel)
12.33:00pm: Christine Majerus (Lux)
12.34:30pm: Eri Yonamine (Jpn)
12.36:00pm: Vita Heine (Nor)
12.37:30pm: Lotta Lepisto (Fin)
12.39:00pm: Audrey Cordon (Fra)
12.40:30pm: Tara Whitten (Can)
12.42:00pm: Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol)
12.43:30pm: Alena Amialiusik (Blr)
12.45:00pm: Emma Pooley (GB)
12.46:30pm: Karol-Ann Canuel (Can)
12.48:00pm: Ann-Sophie Duyck (Bel)
12.49:30pm: Trixi Worrack (Ger)
12.51:00pm: Katrin Garfoot (Aus)
12.52:30pm: Ashleigh Moolman (RSA)
12.54:00pm: Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita)
12.55:30pm: Ganna Solovei (Ukr)
12.57:00pm: Ellen van Dijk (Ned)
12.58:30pm: Evelyn Stevens (USA)
1.00:00pm: Olga Zabelinskaya (Rus)
1.01:30pm: Lisa Brennauer (Ger)
1.03:00pm: Anna van der Breggen (Ned)
1.04:30pm: Linda Villumsen (NZ)
1.06:00pm: Kristin Armstrong (USA)