News The public will get a taste of the Olympic Games atmosphere around one of the first major medal events to be contested after the opening ceremony The athletes will get their only chance to race on the entire Olympic course before next year’s competition And all of this on a circuit that will showcase some of the most beautiful sights in one of the world’s most photogenic cities Sunday’s (16 August) road cycling test event promises to be one of the most spectacular so far The Aquece Rio International Road Cycling Challenge will be the seventh Rio 2016 test event, following volleyball, triathlon, rowing, equestrian and two sailing events, and is also part of the International Cycling Union (UCI) America Tour Starting at 8 30am in Copacabana and finishing about four hours later alongside São Conrado beach, it will pass through Ipanema, Leblon, São Conrado, Barra, Recreio, Guaratiba, Alto da Boa Vista, Tijuca Forest (including the Vista Chinesa viewing point), Horto, Jardim Botânico and Gávea The public will be able to cheer on the cyclists along the way and the city authorities undertake the largest road closure and diversion operation in Rio’s history Click here to see the full interactive 360-degree video of the course The race will feature 80 male cyclists from 15 countries, 11 judges and 500 volunteers Thirty seven departments from the Rio 2016 Organising Committee will be involved with special focus on the competition area, volunteer management and logistics (for example there will be 25,000 metal barriers set up along Rio’s streets) The course extends for 164 9 km, combining beautiful scenery with a challenging circuit  featuring steep climbs, cobblestones and technical descents “It will be the only opportunity for athletes to get to know the whole route It won’t be available again,” said Rio 2016’s road cycling competition manager, Isabel Fernandes Countries with a strong cycling tradition, such as Italy and France, will take part in the event, as well as others whose cyclists did well at the London 2012 Games, including Kazakhstan (home to Olympic champion Alexandr Vinokurov), Australia, Belgium and Switzerland Brazil will have two teams, while Great Britain, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Russia and Ukraine will complete the line-up Each country can have a maximum of five competitors After starting in Copacabana (1) there will be two laps of the Prainha-Grumari circuit (2) and two of the Tijuca Forest circuit (3 & 4)  Among the best-known cyclists in the race will be Australia’s Richie Porte and France’s Thibaut Pinot, respectively sixth and 13th in the UCI WorldTour rankings, and France’s Romain Bardet, who came ninth in this year’s Tour de France Switzerland’s Gregory Rast came eighth at the London 2012 Games, while the Netherlands’ Steven Kruijswijk was seventh overall in this year’s Giro d’Italia Click here to find out more about the Aquece Rio International Road Cycling Challenge, click here to find out more about the Rio 2016 test event programme and click here to see the full calendar