Remco Evenepoel and Josh Tarling, both contenders for the Olympic men's TT gold in Paris later today, have pointed to shortcomings with the road surface, saying it was "bumpy" and was pockmarked with "holes".
With the rain falling in Paris today, and the roads soaking wet for the women's TT which began at 2.30pm local time, with some crashes occurring. And those risks will be heightened given the issues with the road surface the experienced riders have pointed out.
Evenepoel said the "holes" in the roads in Paris were such a problem it would make it hard to handle a TT bike, which are rigid and on which the riders hold an aggressive position.
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"The first and last five kilometers are not the best roads unfortunately," world TT champion Evenepoel, who has just finished 3rd in the Tour de France, told broadcaster RTBF.
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"There are a lot of holes in the tarmac so it's not great for a time trial bike to ride on it. Otherwise, it's super fast, the corners are fast too, and that's something that I like."
Great Britain's Tarling echoed Evenepoel's comments after he ridden the course several times, saying the issues impacted the first and last 5km - almost a third of the course - on the out and back route.
"The first 5k is quite bumpy and in the last 5ks it's the same," the 20-year-old British rider said. "It's going to be long enough to hurt. It's going to be scary but exciting."
