"Remco Evenepoel is going to start very early" - Thijs Zonneveld believes Belgium will attack Olympics and Mathieu van der Poel has to respond directly

Belgium has several big favourites for today's Olympic Games race and among them is Remco Evenepoel. Thijs Zonneveld argues that the winner of the time-trial should start attacking in the final 100 kilometers and that the team should put the pressure on rivals from early on.

"He is the big favourite, but on this course that is more of a burden than a pleasure. Everyone watched the World Championships in Glasgow last year and a lot of riders are going to think: I don't want to go into that last lap with Van der Poel," Thijs Zonneveld argued in the Het Wiel podcast. "That means that there will be a lot of pressure on someone like Daan Hoole, who will have to get going very early in the race. If something happens in the early stages, he is expected to help control. In fact, Hoole should ride at the front for as long as possible and 'bring away' Van Baarle and Van der Poel for as long as possible in the final".

However the first kilometers of the race have proved very calm, and the Netherlands have maintained a very controlled position on the race, as Belgium remains conservative alongside all other rival teams. The hills will be spread throughout all the race and attacking opportunities will present themselves constantly.

"Remco Evenepoel is going to start very early. He's going more than a hundred kilometres from the finish, because if he rides away: who's going to catch him? If he's on his own, he almost always stays away," Zonneveld argues. "That's what he did in Wollongong. If Evenepoel goes, Van der Poel will actually have to react himself."

However he believes that outsiders can win on a race that is expected to be chaotic. "The chance that someone like Jasper Stuyven will become Olympic champion is actually quite big. Knowing Van der Poel, he will react to Wout van Aert, because that is second nature to him. But you also have to react to Evenepoel. If I were Belgium, I would start when leaving Paris, so to speak," he concluded.