Tyler Butterfield makes his Pan-Am Games debut today when he takes to the roads of Rio striving to stay within touching distance of the pack leaders.

As Bermuda’s sole cyclist in Rio, Butterfield is starkly aware he must adhere to a strict ride in the 160km road race in Flamengo Park — and has already drafted a rough script.

With only 50 or so competitors it will be a paltry field, but the 24-year-old has vowed not to fall too far behind the frontrunners at any point so as to keep his race alive.

“Cycling is like a game of chess and riding alone means I can’t afford to do anything crazy — I know the race I must ride,” affirmed the former Olympic triathlete.

“Hopefully I’ll have the legs to stay with the second pack at the very least for as long as possible.

“As I’m the only Bermudian I can’t cycle a team race — so I’ll have to race conservatively.

“I’m not a sprinter and will try and sit in but I’ll have to be mindful of not dropping too far behind the leaders. With a small field gaps can open up quickly and kill your race.

“If three or four riders breakaway I’ll probably choose to sit in, but anymore than that and it may force my hand.”

Butterfield envisages the Columbians and Brazilians asabeing the race favourites and believes at least 40 out of the field are of an extremely high standard.

He also singled out Brazilian speedster Santiago Botero — who won the Pan-Am time trial — as the “top dog” in the race.

“The Columbian riders always impress me,” he said.

“You see guys riding the worst possible piece of equipment and yet it has no negative impact — they’ll still be attacking you at the end.

“Mentally they’re very tough which probably stems from their upbringing, which I believe can be difficult.”

Bermuda’s national champion had missed out on qualifying for Pan-Am last year but gained entry via a wildcard; he hopes to use the Games as platform to re-launch his ailing professional season, which has been riddled with ill health.

He underwent tests recently that revealed a parasite — picked up drinking dirty water, possibly while traveling through Africa last year — was the cause of his fatigue problems.

But Pembroke-born Butterfield believes the worst of his ailments are behind him and is hoping to resurrect his first professional season with Team Slipstream and secure a ride for their next campaign.

“I’ll be having more tests when I return to SlipStream but at the moment I feel OK,” he said.

“I haven’t raced for six weeks so I expect tomorrow (today) to take it out of me.

“The pressure is on me to improve in the second half of the season and show Slipstream that I have the ability.”

Butterfield, who is engaged to world-class cyclist Nikki Egyed, said he was taken aback by the reception he received clocking in the miles while training in Bermuda.

He now hopes to give his homeland something to cheer and repay those who encouraged him and aided his preparations.

“I’ve been riding each morning since I arrived here on Wednesday on the bike routes which run along the beaches at Copacabana and Ipanema,” he added.

“It’s not a bad place to do your final preparation work as the views are absolutely stunning.

“It’s a bit cooler than in Bermuda so the weather should not pose me any problems.

“But to be honest most of my preparation work went on back in Bermuda. It was great to spend some time back on the Island and the reception I received while I trained was superb.

“People waved to me from their car windows and wished me luck — that’s really given me increased motivation ahead of today’s race.

“I aim to give it everything I’ve got and to do my best for the people back home who have supported me.”