The road races in cycling at the Olympics are an opportunity for the host city to shine. The routes that the men and women traverse over several grueling hours and hundreds of kilometers of racing typically pass some of its most iconic historical and cultural landmarks. They provide a stunning backdrop to the marquee event of the cycling program at the Summer Games, while making for spectacular pictures on TV as the riders zip by at high speeds.
Few cities can match Paris when it comes to historical and cultural landmarks. The course for the men covers 273 kilometers (170 miles) on Saturday while the women covers 158 kilometers (98 miles) on Sunday. And here is a look at what riders will see as they covered the cobbles and tarmac in the race for a medal: Pont d'Iena and the Eiffel Tower The start of the men's and women's road races is the Pont d'Iena, the bridge crossing the River Seine commissioned by Napoleon to celebrate his victory at the Battle of Jena.
It connects the Trocadéro on the Right Bank, which was the highlight of the opening ceremony just over a week ago, to the Eiffel Tower on the Left Bank, where the Olympic beach volleyball stadium was built. Palace of Versailles The races will head west out of Paris on their way to Versailles, the former royal hunting lodge-turned-opulent residence that was commissioned by King Louis XIV and used by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The spectacular palace is a UNESCO world heritage site.
It contains more than 2,300 rooms, .