The Swiss star had finished as the bronze medallist at Beijing 2008, before upgrading to the silver four-years ago in London.

On that occasion he was beaten by the Czech Republic’s Jaroslav Kulhavy and the two men renewed their rivalry in Rio, as the duo hit the front early in the race 32.4 kilometre race.

They were both able break clear of the main field, which ended the chances of Julien Absalon, with the Frenchman having targeted winning a third Olympic gold before retirement.

An acceleration with 10km to go saw Schurter move clear of Kulhavy, with the Swiss rider then going solo to claim victory in a time of 1hr, 33min and 28sec.

Kulhavy was forced to settle for silver, having fallen short in his attempts for back-to-back golds, as he ended 50 seconds down.

"It is a dream come true, I cannot believe it,” said Schurter, who secured Switzerland's 50th Olympic gold medal.

“I have been working four years for this gold, I am so happy that everything went well.

“If I am looking back, I needed silver in London to get back and be strong here.

“I have bronze in Beijing, silver in London, and now gold in Rio.

“It is the perfect story."

Spain’s Carlos Coloma Nicolas came out on top of a head-to-head duel with Maxime Marotte for bronze, ending 10 seconds clear of his French rival.

There was disappointment for International Cycling Union (UCI) road cycling world champion Peter Sagan, who had opted to compete in mountain biking, after opting out of the road race.

The Slovakian star had pushed to the front of the race on the opening lap, but two punctures saw him drop down the field, before eventually abandoning.