Women's Individual Time Trial – Olympic Road Cycling LIVE

Grace Brown has just set the fastest time at the first checkpoint, 5 seconds ahead of Chloe Dygert – who comes through after her – and 21 seconds ahead of Anna Henderson. Kopecky was 32 seconds back and Vollering 2 further seconds behind her.

Cadzow has taken her seat in the world’s most sodden hot seat.

Two changes at the top in quick succesion: German TT champ Mieke Kroeger sets the new fastest time, 26 seconds quicker than Bujak, but New Zealand’s Kim Cadzow – who has gone round this course completely out of sight of the cameras – has just finished 42 seconds faster than that, in a blistering 41.46.

Further back it’s looking extremely close among the big names who set off towards the end. Juliette Labous has caught her one-minute woman, Nora Jencusova.

The Belgian has hit the deck and got up quite gingerly – her back wheel slid out on what looks like the same corner that first brought down Knibb. That’s highly unfortunate for a rider heavily fancied for a medal. She looks to be taking the corners with a bit more caution now.

France’s Juliette Labous is riding well, just over a second and a half slower than Kopecky at the first checkpoint.

It’s still absolutely pouring down in Paris. Some updates: Kopecky is 2.3 seconds quicker than Knibb’s benchmark time at the first time check, in ominous news for everyone else out on the course. Eugenia Bujak is 8.4 seconds quicker than Lach at the finish to set the new fastest time.

Heartbreak for Taylor Knibb, who’s three milliseconds slower than Marta Lach at the finish. Highly impressive considering her several crashes and that mechanical. It’s a case of what might have been for the American, who still has the triathlon to pin her hopes on.

Chloe Dygert has rolled down the ramp and that’s all 35 contenders out on the road now (or finished, in a couple of cases). Grace Brown set off just before her and appeared to wobble or pause slightly at the top – could those milliseconds lost prove crucial?

Marta Lach has just obliterated Uttrup Ludwig’s time, finishing in 43.03.43, a minute and seven seconds quicker.

Ellen van Dijk has not had the best start. The Dutch rider went through fifth at the first time check, 17 seconds down on Taylor Knibb.

Hashimi’s time has been surpassed by Uttrup Ludwig, who finished 18 seconds faster despite her war wounds – the Dane has a gash on her leg from that early crash.

Team GB’s Anna Henderson, who has a real chance at a medal, is next to set off. Knibb is still riding well despite all her misfortunes; she currently sits fifth at the intermediate time check, 22 seconds behind Mieke Kroger.

The Afghan rider Yulduz Hashimi has absolutely powered round this course and finishes 38 seconds quicker than Pintar.

Urska Pintar clocks a time of 45.07:15 – she’s the first to finish.

At the start line, Frenchwoman Juliette Labous gets a huge cheer from the crowd as she sets off, with Dutch uber-talent Demi Vollering a minute and a half behind her.

Kopecky’s big rival at the recent Giro d’Italia Donne, eventual winner Elisa Longo Borghini, is next down the ramp. We’re down to the final six riders still to start now.

Big cheers for Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky, who has to be one of the favourites for today given her bike-handling skills, as she heads down the ramp and gets immediately into the aero position.

Taylor Knibb’s day is going from bad to worse. She crashes again and is pushed on by an IOC soigneur, and when the camera next pans to her, she’s had a puncture and a mechanic slips on the soaking asphalt trying to pass her a new bike. At the start gate, the surprise gold medallist in the road race at Tokyo 2020, Anna Kiesenhofer, is on the move.

Germany’s under-23 world TT champion Antonia Niedermaier is next on the road. Afghanistan’s Hashimi has set the fastest time at the second checkpoint, while Knibb is negotiating this course slightly more gingerly now. Riders’ bike handling skills are going to be utterly crucial today, but there’s also the issue of risk vs reward on those dodgy, slippery corners.

Huge cheers from a horde of orange-clad Dutch fans as multiple world TT champion Ellen van Dijk gets underway. This is a massive chance for her.

Taylor Knibb has also just crashed twice in quick succession: first at the exact same spot as Uttrup Ludwig, then moments later on another corner.

Uttrup Ludwig goes down! Her bike completely slides out from under her on a chicane through the Bois de Vincennes. She’s back up and riding quickly, looks unhurt, but that was unfortunate for her.

Taylor Knibb has just through the first time check a full 30 seconds faster than the Dane – she is FLYING. Back at the start line Emma Norsgaard is underway, targeting a top 10 finish.

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig has just set the fastest time at the first time check, at the Chateau de Vincennes: 17.28:77 – but only a second faster than Afghanistan’s Yulduz Hashimi, who is putting in a strong ride.

A couple of nervy moments in quick succession: the Slovenian Eugenia Bujak nearly slips out of the start gate, grabbing onto the side to avoid going down, just before Taylor Knibb’s back wheel nearly slides out beneath her on a speed bump. Both disasters are averted but it seems likely we’ll see more of that in the wet.

The weather conditions haven’t kept the spectators at bay, though, with Parisians lining the inner-city streets to cheer the riders on.

Taylor Knibb is another exciting prospect in this race. She’s also competing in an entirely different sport, the triathlon, and is a real contender for a top 10 here – although she is better suited, unsurprisingly, to longer efforts.

Conditions are slick: the camera following the riders is spattered with raindrops and the rain doesn’t look likely to let up. Fingers crossed everyone gets around this course smoothly.

The first six riders are out on the road. The Czech rider Julia Kopecky (not that other Kopecky) has just rolled down the start ramp onto the sweeping start of this course.

35 riders will take to the start line with 1 minute 30 seconds between each rider, beginning with Slovenia’s Urska Pintar at 1.30 BST. All times BST.

• 1.36:00 : Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig – Denmark
• 1.40:30 : Taylor Knibb – USA
• 1.57:00 : Audrey Cordon Ragot – France
• 1.58:30 : Emma Norsgaard – Denmark
• 2.00:00 : Ellen van Dijk – Netherlands
• 2.09:00 : Lotte Kopecky – Belgium
• 2.10:30 : Elisa Longo Borghini – Italy
• 2.13:30 : Juliette Labous – France
• 2.15:00 : Demi Vollering – Netherlands
• 2.16:30 : Anna Henderson – GB
• 2.19:30 : Grace Brown – Australia
• 2.21:00 : Chloe Dygert – USA

Reminder that you can watch on discovery+, the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer.

Defending Olympic TT champion Annemiek van Vleuten isn’t competing, following her retirement last year. Countrywoman Ellen van Dijk could succeed her: she is a triple world TT champion but broke her ankle training in June, so the Games may (or may not) have come slightly too early for her. Lotte Kopecky of Belgium has an enormous engine – which will also be in action on the track — and is in fine form, although a case of Covid post-Giro d’Italia has hampered her prep.

For Team GB, national champion Anna Henderson is a consistent high achiever, fourth in last year’s World Championships and a strong contender. Australia’s Grace Brown has only not finished on the podium once in 10 ITTs since the last Olympics and is looking to cap off her career with Olympic gold before she retires at the end of the year. American Chloe Dygert is the last to set off today and is probably the favourite to take gold to add to her two world titles – and it would be some achievement after an illness- and crash-disrupted couple of seasons.

It’s an extremely flat, fast course suited to the time trial speciallists, without too many technical corners and with just 150m of elevation gain. Timechecks are at the 13.4km and 22.3km mark, both at the Chateau de Vincennes. The biggest obstacles are likely to be the Paris potholes, which world TT champion Remco Evenepoel was unimpressed by, and the rain. It’s been a sodden few days in the capital and the roads are very slick.

For the first time at the Olympics both men and women will be competing on exactly the same course, a flat 32.4km loop starting and finishing at the Pont Alexandre III – the longest women’s time trial in Olympic history. In theory it’s a beautiful, scenic parcours, following the Seine and taking in some iconic Parisian landmarks such as the Place de la Bastille, although the riders won’t be paying too much attention to the sights if they want to bag a medal.

Bonjour et bienvenue to day 1 of the Olympics and day 1 of cycling action in Paris! We’re kicking things off with the women’s individual time trial, where a stacked field – including the likes of Demi Vollering, Ellen van Dijk, Lotte Kopecky and Grace Brown – will be battling it out for gold on the streets of the French capital. After the fever dream that was yesterday’s opening ceremony it’s time to get down to business, with the first of many cycling medals on the line.