Belgian National Coach Sven Vanthourenhout about main contender for Olympic ITT gold: "Josh Tarling is the top favourite"

The Olympic Games in Paris are scheduled for next summer. In the run-up to that event, Belgian National Coach Sven Vanthourenhout has plenty of options when it comes to putting together his selection. Especially considering that the Belgian team will only ride the road race with four riders, two of whom will also have to ride the time trial.

Particularly in the time trial, the Belgians have two contenders for gold. Vanthourenhout, speaking to HLN, agrees with this like no other. "Wout and Remco have shown that they can handle all terrains in the time trial. It's a flat course, with a small bend here and there. They have both expressed their ambition and want to participate. Then the job as a national coach is not so difficult."

However, he points at young Joshua Tarling as the absolute favorite. "Josh Tarling is the top favourite. If you look at his development in a short time and the focus that the British place on the Games, he is a top favorite," he says about the still very young Briton.

Then the road race that is over 270 kilometers in length and has a cobblestone climb of approximately one kilometer. The Butte Montmartre, part of a local lap of eighteen kilometers, will be ridden numerous times, last time about ten kilometers from the finish. Vanthourenhout expects two scenarios: "Either the race will quickly become chaotic, because of the many bends and the climb. Or the race only explodes in the last lap, on the last climb, and after a boring day has an exciting finsh."