PARIS (Reuters) - Filippo Ganna has been flying under the radar this season but on Saturday the Italian will go all out as he takes on Belgium's prodigy Remco Evenepoel in a much-anticipated individual time trial at the Paris Olympics.
While the Tour de France was Evenepoel's main target this season, Ganna has built his year around the Games, where he will look to claim his first individual medal, on the track or road.
The 28-year-old is a beast on flat terrain, having won six individual pursuit world titles and two others in the time trial on the road.
Although he won gold in the team pursuit on the track in Tokyo, he has yet to climb onto an individual event's podium.
"I tried to perfect everything. I won't say I've gone teetotal, but almost. One day I indulged in two beers, and let's say that was the ultimate splurge," Ganna told Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Ganna admitted Evenepoel was coming to Paris in great shape after an "incredible" Tour where he finished third overall, but he would not be drawn into comparisons and predictions.
"I don't want to think about the others. I just know that I need to be the best Filippo Ganna ever."
Another top contender is Britain's Joshua Tarling, who won bronze in the time trial at the world championships last year behind second-placed Ganna and gold medallist Evenepoel.
NOT FAVOURITE
The Belgian, however, is not the favourite, his national coach believes.
"Remco is a candidate for gold, but the favourites are Ganna and Tarling," Sven Vanthourenhout said.
While he is still riding the wave of the Tour, Evenepoel dug very deep for three weeks this month.
"With the Tour de France I've been through, my mental state is good. Physically you come out of it tired but mentally you recover faster," he said.
The route is a 32.4-km dash starting from western Paris with, in the background, the Alexandre III bridge, where it will finish.
It will be the first time women and men have raced the same distance.
In the women's event, American Chloe Dygert is among the main favourites, having shown with her 2023 world title that she has recovered from Epstein-Barr virus diagnosed in early 2022, which was followed by heart surgery to treat accelerating beats.
Her main rivals will be Australia's Grace Brown and Briton Anna Henderson, with triple world champion Ellen van Dijk's form after she broke her ankle in June being a big question mark.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)
