It’s an event that always proves to be one of the most popular at the Games, transforming regular roads into an arena for elite sport and bringing the excitement of a major sporting event to people’s doorsteps, each rider sets off at minute intervals, enabling them to focus only on achieving the fastest time possible without jostling other competitors for position. Each rider is timed individually, with the fastest rider securing the all-important place on the top step of the podium.
Time trial bikes are very different to normal road bikes, they are designed to be as aerodynamic as possible, in a bid to minimise drag and obtain speeds as fast as possible, the idea of these bikes is to set the rider up in a advanced aerodynamic streamlined riding position, usually the rider has to learn how to ride the bike in a totally Unorthodox position, in the case of world class riders, the TT bike is adjusted and fitted to the riders with the aid of a wind tunnel, TT bikes can be very expensive, some upwards of £25000 but a good road TT bike can be purchased for around 3 to 5K.