Thursday 24 March 2016 16:04, UK
British cycling world champion Lizzie Armitstead says the course for the Olympic road race this summer will provide the riders with a "brutal" test.
Armitstead claimed silver in the road race at London 2012 and the 27-year-old will look to go one better on 7 August.
And she says the 130.3km route, which starts and ends in Rio, but features a number of climbs as it heads along the coast, is a lot more arduous than it may appear.
"It's pretty brutal," Armitstead said of the route. "It's a climber's course.
"You need to see it to believe it. People watch a video and think it doesn't look too bad, but the video doesn't show it.
"It's just really, really difficult, so it's a case of surviving for me and getting back in on the descent into Rio."
Armitstead familiarised herself with the course last year when she rode in the support car at a test event alongside men's coach Rod Ellingworth.
"It was really useful because I saw where riders were getting dropped and getting back on," she said. "And having Rod there, he's directed a lot of big races, so it was really good."
However, she added: "The last climb has this favela on it which is meant to be the most dangerous in the world.
"When you're riding up a steep climb and there's a favela on your right which has got drug lords in it, you're thinking, 'I need to go faster', but you can't. Just don't get a flat (tyre)!"
Armitstead will fly to Rio as late as possible before the race, and British Cycling are doing their bit to maximise her chances.
"It'll be my first business flight ever!" she said. "British Cycling are taking me business, so hopefully I'll land and I'll feel fantastic."
