Kuznetsov completed the 79.2 kilometre race at the Fuji International Speedway in 2 hours 34min 35sec, pipping Heinz Frei of Switzerland to the gold at the finishing line during an incredibly close finale.

Walter Ablinger of Austria was 31 seconds behind the front two in securing bronze.

Kuznetsov became the second RPC rider to win a gold at Tokyo 2020, following on from Mikhail Astashov’s success in track and road cycling as he claimed the men’s C1 3,000m individual pursuit and C1 time trial.

It was perhaps the biggest win of Kuznetsov’s career, after previously appearing at three International Cycling Union (UCI) Para-cycling Road World Championships.

He finished seventh in both the men’s H3 road race and time trial at Cascais in Portugal this June, bettering his performances at Pietermaritzburg in South Africa and Emmen in the Netherlands in 2017 and 2019 respectively.

He is ranked seventh in the world by the UCI in the men’s H3 elite road Para-cycling.

Kuznetsov competes in the H3 class events, which are for athletes with a handcycle with impairments, including amputation or paralysis of the legs or motor function impairments.

The now 40-year-old took up the sport in 2015, and is now based in the Russian capital Moscow.

Kuznetsov has received the Master of Sport in the Russian Federation title.