Thursday 4 August 2016 18:27, UK
Sir Dave Brailsford believes Chris Froome will be a “force to be reckoned with” in Saturday’s Olympic Games road race and will not be hampered by his lack of one-day experience.
The 237.5km race takes place on a hilly course containing 11 climbs and Froome is set to start as third favourite for victory behind Spain's Alejandro Valverde and Italy's Vincenzo Nibali.
Valverde and Nibali have both won Classics such as Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Il Lombardia in the past two years, but Froome rarely takes part in one-day races and has admitted going for gold in Rio is a "gamble".
He will also only have four team-mates to support him, as opposed to the eight he had with Team Sky at last month's Tour de France, but Brailsford does not believe Froome will be at a disadvantage.
He told Sky Sports: "I don't think his lack of one-day experience will count against him. We saw in the Tour a very much more aggressive Chris taking his opportunities.
"What those guys do well is they wait, they are patient, they know when to go, when to use their energy and when to hold back a little bit, and I think Chris has developed that a lot in his riding, so I think he will be a force to be reckoned with."
Froome is also targeting next Wednesday's time trial, which takes place on a hilly, 54.5km course containing four climbs.
Having seen him finish second and then first in the two time trials at the Tour, Brailsford believes Froome will be tough to beat.
He added: "I think he has got a very strong chance. You don't know how your body is going to react after a Grand Tour and I think that will be the key thing to monitor.
"The second time trial [at the Tour] is one of his best time trial performances that I have seen, and if he takes that with him, it will be very exciting for him.
"I think if he time trials to the best of his ability in his current form, he will be right up there as one of the top favourites."
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