Paris Olympics 2024: Saturday's Cycling, Swimming, Sevens and Street to bring early golds

• Ellen van Dijk can use experience in Women's Time Trial

• Filippo Ganna will benefit from Olympic focus

• Fiji look solid favourites for Sevens glory

• Katie Ledecky can turn back clock in 400m Freestyle

• Lukas Martens has made losing a habit

• Little-know Joseph Garbaccio can cause shock in Street

• Use Betfair's Safer Gambling during the Paris 2024 Olympics

At the time of writing, arson attacks are throwing Olympics plans into disarray, but assuming that all gets sorted, we will wake up Saturday with the hubbub, hullabaloo, and brouhaha of the Opening Ceremony put to rest for another four years, ready to focus on some hard-core medal action.

Dygert will struggle to win early Time Trial gold

One of the first gold medals will be awarded in the Women's Time Trial, but it's hard to get excited by odds-on favourite and World Champion, Chloe Dygert (8/111.73). Achilles' problems and illness mean she is under-raced this season, and far better value can be found elsewhere.

Australian Grace Brown (7/24.50) - just seven seconds behind Dygert at the last World Championships - is the obvious choice, but preference is for he 37-year-old Ellen van Dijk (7/24.50), a three-time world champion at the discipline who has won her only two time trials this season.

Ganna's Experience can tell in Time Trial

In the Men's Time Trial, it would be easy to weigh-in on World Champion and Tour de France time-trial stage-winner Remco Evenepoel (11/43.75). But the Olympics is an afterthought for Evenepoel, and this flat, out-and-back course will better suit the power men of the discipline, Josh Tarling (1/12.00) and Filippo Ganna (13/53.60), who have had Paris 2024 glory as their main target all year.

Either could win, but at the odds, the more experienced Ganna is the obvious choice.

Fiji can claim Rugby Sevens gold

Pre-Olympics tip Fiji - 162^nd in the world according to population data - can top the charts in Rugby Sevens and win gold. Imperious in the qualifying matches, they are into 1/12.00. The value may have gone, and those wanting bigger odds would be advised to support Australia at 13/27.50. Unbeaten in Group B, they are capable of an upset in what is a febrile and unpredictable sport.

Don't discount "veteran" Ledecky in Women's 400m Freestyle

For someone who has been around so long, it's always a surprise to read that Katie Ledecky is only 27, but then she burst onto the scene at London 2012 when only 15.

Not the dominant force of old, Ledecky finds herself third in the betting for the Women's 400m Freestyle at 11/26.50. Those odds look value, though.

World-record holder Ariarne Titmus (1/31.33) is the rightful favourite, with Summer McIntosh (7/24.50) completing a trio that many swim fans expect to deliver the best action in the pool this Olympics.

But the three are closer than those odds suggest, and seeming outsider Ledecky can make her experience count.

Martens likely to find way to lose Men's 400m Freestyle

Lukas Martens at 6/42.50 looks an oft over-hyped favourite if ever there was one. He failed to make the final in Tokyo 2020 and has yet to better a minor podium place at the world championships in this discipline.

Samuel Short and Elijah Winnington are better prospects, but at big odds, preference is for South Korean Kim Woo-Min at 10/111.00, a surprise winner at the World Championships in Doha earlier this year.

Expect French shock in Skateboarding's Street final

Defending champion Yuto Horigome returns to the Olympics to try and reclaim his Street title, but in an open contest, his odds of 9/2 look short.

Far better to look for big odds in the expectation of a surprise win. Home attention will all be on France's Aurelien Giraud at 9/2, but my Street brethren from the Le Havre skateboarding scene tell me that Joseph Garbaccio is the better talent and huge value at 40/141.00.

Now read more Paris 2024 Olympics tips and previews here.