Grace Brown took the women's time trial gold medal for Australia in treacherous conditions as the first cycling medals were awarded at the 2024 Olympic Games.
Great Britain's Anna Henderson claimed the silver medal 1:31 behind Brown and just a second ahead of the USA's Chloe Dygert who won the bronze medal.
Riders struggled to keep upright through the puddles, cobbles and potholes of Paris. Several competitors including Lotte Kopecky, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and Taylor Knibb came down as the rain poured throughout the race.
Brown led through the first time check narrowly ahead of Dygert, but her lead was extended when the American crashed on the cobbles approaching the second intermediate point. Brown stayed safe throughout and powered on to claim the first cycling gold medal of the 2024 Olympic Games.
Brown, who races for FDJ-SUEZ in the Women's WorldTour, is set to retire at the end of this season.
Henderson was delighted with silver, admitting that she had performed beyond her expectations leading into the day.
“I can’t believe it. I had a small feeling I might be able to reach the podium today, squeeze out some of the other riders, but I can’t believe I’ve come second behind someone like Grace. It’s unbelievable," Henderson told Eurosport after the result was confirmed.
"I burst into tears when I found out I was second. I can’t stop smiling, I’m over the moon."
"I just focused on power in the straights and caution in the corners ... I thought I could lose a whole Olympic Games there. I saw a lot of girls have problems today, so really happy I could hold it upright.”
How it Happened
The rowing was one of several sports to kick off the first official day of competition at the 2024 Olympic Games and those competing in the women's time-trial may have been better served using boats rather than bikes.
Conditions out on the roads of Paris were treacherous following the heavy rains during the previous evening's opening ceremony which continued into the morning and throughout the race. It was an open race heading in with no overwhelming favourite, but numerous crashes out on the course made things even more unpredictable
Slovenian Urška Pintar got the race underway, gingerly making her way round the first corner. American triathlete Taylor Knibb looked like she would set the first significant benchmark time before crashing three times and suffering a mechanical.
It was Yulduz Hashimi, the first woman ever to represent Afghanistan in cycling at the Olympic Games, who set an impressive time early on, the first under 45 minutes. She was beaten soon after by Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig. Both had been down earlier in the course.
The first rider to get a clean run at things was Poland's Marta Lach, who was more than a minute quicker than Uttrup Ludwig, setting the first time which looked like it could be competitive come the end of the day.
Rider after rider came over the line showing the affects of crashes as the rain marred the day. Having set the fastest intermediate time, Lotte Kopecky was another who came down as the favourites emerged. She seemed unhurt ahead of tilts at medals in the road race and on the track later in the Games.
Kiwi Kim Cadzow set a blistering time to take a clear lead with twenty riders still to finish and the rain continued to fall. Moments later fellow antipodean Grace Brown took a commanding lead at the intermediate time check. American Chloe Dygert, the last rider on the course, passed the same point just five seconds down on the Australian. It looked like a straight shoot out between Brown and Dygert for gold.
Brown was flying and, crucially, staying upright. She extended her lead at the second time check, only Dygert could challenge. But the American crashed heavily on the Paris cobbles, losing 46 seconds on Brown as a result. The Australian just needed to stay on her bike and maintain her pace to claim gold.
Brown powered on, taking a dream gold medal in what is her final season as a professional. Dygert slowed further, feeling the effects of the crash and falling behind Great Britain and Norther Ireland's Henderson by just one second to claim bronze.
Results: Paris > Paris 32.4km
1. Grace Brown, Australia, 39:38
2. Anna Henderson, Great Britain & NI, +1:31s
3. Chloe Dygert, USA, +1:32s
4. Juliette Labous, France, +1:41s
5. Demi Vollering, Netherlands, +1:51s
6. Lotte Kopecky, Belgium, +1:56s
7. Kim Cadzow, New Zealand, +2:08s
8. Elisa Longo Borghini, Italy, +2:11s
9. Audrey Cordon-Ragot, France, +2:13s
10. Christina Schweinberger, Austria, +2:14s
