The 2020 Tokyo Olympics (as it's still being marketed even though the event was delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic) opening ceremony was held on Friday evening, however, some events such as softball and football started on Wednesday.

And while Renshaw said the Tour de France is still the pinnacle event for cycling, he said being a young 22-year-old back in 2004, it was a pretty big deal to represent his country.

"In cycling, the Tour de France is the number race in the world. It's one of the biggest annual sporting events in the world," he said.

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"It's the pinnacle for our sport, but for a young 22-year-old Australian, the Olympics is a pretty big deal.

"For me it was massive, to make it to Athens and represent Australia but ultimately looking back, the biggest races I rode were in the Tour de France."

Renshaw finished sixth overall in the cycling, with Russian Mikhail Ignatiev taking home the gold medal.

"I rode the point race and that comes down to a sprint every 10 laps, where you collect points. You also get 20 points if you lap the field," he explained.

"Instead of winning five points for a sprint, if you manage to lap the field, you get 20 points. It's more about lapping the field and getting points along the way than being the fastest sprinter. It's a really action-packed race. It never slows down. There's always a lot happening."

Renshaw said the delay in the Olympics by a year would've had a big impact on many athletes, especially those in cycling.

"I imagine it would've been super difficult for athletes, because peaking at times is quite difficult," he said.

"So to have something like the pandemic come up and push the Olympics back to a later date, it makes it really hard for their mental mindset and physical peak.

"For me watching, it crept up pretty fast. With the Tour de France, I was pretty focused on that. The men's road race is the first event at the Olympics, so it's a pretty short turnaround for the guys that were at the Tour de France.

"It's a bit special, the road race being one of the first events in the Olympics."

The cycling will get underway at the Olympics on Saturday from 12pm, for the men's road race.

Australia has 19 cyclists entered for the Tokyo Olympics across road cycling, track cycling and mountain biking, which includes 2016 silver medalist Sam Welsford and 2012 bronze medalist Kaarle McCulloch.

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