Biniam Girmay will be the flag bearer for Eritrea at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on Friday but most of the contenders for the cycling medals will be absent from the spectacular four-hour parade down the river Seine.
Race schedules for the 16 days of competition mean that many riders have still to arrive in Paris or are prioritising rest and preparation rather than joining the 6,500 athletes for the opening ceremony.
The women’s and men’s time trials kick off the cycling events on Saturday afternoon, with the women’s mountain bike race on Sunday and the men’s mountain bike race on Monday. Most cycling medal contenders are not staying in the official Olympic Village on the west side of Paris but have opted to stay in their nation's performance centres in quiet but luxurious hotels outside of the French capital.
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Medal favourites such as Great Britain's Josh Tarling, Italy's Filippa Ganna and Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini and Ellen Van Dijk will not participate in Friday’s four-hour opening ceremony that comes less than 24 hours before the race.
Ganna will race the time trial and then return to Italy to rest up and prepare for the team pursuit on the track. Many of the road race teams are still at home, with French team leader Julian Alaphillipe still racing the Czech Tour.
“I don't know what time the ceremony is exactly but I'll give it a watch,” Tarling said, understandably putting a shot at a gold medal on his Olympic debut ahead of the parade.
Girmay will also ride the time trial for Eritrea but is ready to sacrifice his chances somewhat to fly the flag for his country, his agent Alex Carera confirmed to Cyclingnews.
Girmay was the first Black African to win a stage at the Tour de France and became a hero in cycling-mad Eritrea, after also winning the green points jersey He rode and won a post-Tour de France criterium in Herentals, beating Mark Cavendish and Arnaud De Lie, before travelling to Paris on Friday, despite delay due to attacks on the French railway system.
MTB cross-country competitor Nino Schurter is another cycling flag bearer, representing Switzerland.
“It's a really great honour," Schurter said. "It's my fifth Games, but I was never at an Opening Ceremony, because mountain biking was always on the last day and Tokyo was completely different (COVID-19). It's an amazing honour and I will do that with joy.”
The opening ceremony is traditionally held inside the Olympic stadium but the Paris Olympic Games have used historic Parisian locations and buildings for the different sports. Saturday’s time trials will start at the Les Invalides and finish on the spectacular Alexander III bridge. The road races will start and finish at the Trocadero near the Eiffel Tower with a final loop around the Montmartre district.
The details of the Paris opening ceremony have been kept a secret but the four-hour $250 million event has been described as ‘a show like no other’ with the city’s monuments and river banks creating a "a large fresco" that will celebrate Paris, France and the Olympic Games. 3000 dancers will perform on the roof of buildings along the Seine, while Celion Delon, Lady Gaga and French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura are expected to sing classic French songs during the event.
“Why should I have sets made when we are standing in the most beautiful setting in the world?” artistic director Thomas Jolly said.
Unfortunately, rain is forecast for Paris during the event. An inch of rain fell overnight but up to three inches could fall on Friday evening in Paris.
"The forecasts have completely reversed since Thursday: the models now predict a 70 to 80% chance of rain during the opening ceremony of the Olympics," Cyrille Duchesne of La Chaîne Météo, told the French AFP news agency.
340,000 spectators will be allowed to watch the opening ceremony from the banks of the Seine but under strict security, with 45,000 police officers and private security protecting the event from any form of attack. The area along and around the Seine has been locked down for several days with bridges closed, much to the anger of local residents, tourists and businesses.
The athlete’s boat parade will start at the Austerlitz bridge and sail past Notre Dame Cathedral and other French capital landmarks before reaching the Eiffel Tower for a final light show and perhaps fireworks at the Trocadero.
Around 7000 athletes will parade down the Seine on 80 river boats, with flag bearers like Girmay, the US basketball player LeBron James and tennis player Coco Gauff.
Cyclist Fariba Hashima will be the female flag bearer for Afghanistan, while Aaron Gate will carry the New Zealand flag before focusing on the track events from August 5.
The Olympic torch will also sail down the Seine before the Games are officially declared open by French President Emmanuel Macron and two French athletes pronounce the Olympic oath.
"At the beginning, it seemed to be a crazy and not very serious idea," Macron said at the Elysee Palace on Monday. "But we decided it was the right moment to deliver this crazy idea and make it real.”
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