Ecuadorian cyclist Richard Carapaz won the road cycling gold medal on Mount Fuji.
Carapaz kept up his strength until the last 50km stage and broke away from the pack after Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, finally third, tried unsuccessfully to launch the race.
The Ecuadorian arrived practically alone at the finish line and had to wait to meet his companions on the podium.
Carapaz achieved a lead of more than a minute with the rest of the race, which ended with a tough fight for the podium.
Pogacar, who last week won his second consecutive Tour de France, failed to overtake the Belgian Van Aert, who won silver ahead of the Slovenian, bronze.
The Spanish have finished far from the top, after Valverde will run out of options more than 35 km from the finish line.
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