Fresh from a successful Tour de France – making history as both the first black African to win a stage at the world’s most famous bike race and then topping the points classification – Girmay is already a national hero in Eritrea.

Should the 24-year-old finish in the top two in cycling’s time trial or road race then he would achieve the East African country’s best ever result at the Olympics, surpassing an athletics bronze gained in 2004.

First comes the individual time trial, which looks set to be Girmay’s best chance of a medal, along a flat 32.4km-long route which starts on the Esplanade des Invalides and finishes on the Pont Alexandre III.

The 273km road race course a week later will be far more challenging – rolling out into the countryside west of Paris before a final climb up Montmartre along with cobbled streets and tightly winding sections.

Without the backing of a team of riders to help set up a sprint finish, the odds of victory on the Trocadero are stacked against Girmay. Yet he has been used to overcoming hurdles from the start of his career.

In action: Saturday, 27 July (time trial), Saturday, 3 August (road race).