• Races originally were set to start and finish in Flamengo Park • UCI’s Cookson says races ‘will deliver a fantastic spectacle for fans’

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The men’s and women’s cycling road races at the 2016 Olympics will start at finish on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach.

The races originally were set to start and finish in Flamengo Park but cycling’s governing body, the UCI, said on Friday that they will instead “start and finish at the fort of the iconic Copacabana beach”.

The men’s race will take place on 6 August and cover 256.4km and will see riders will pass through other landmarks such as Ipanema and Vista Chinesa. The women’s race will be held the next day and cover 130.3km.

The UCI president, Brian Cookson, said “The combination of the stunning scenery and the stern challenge … will deliver a fantastic spectacle for cycling fans.”