Sunday, July 28, 2024 at 3:36 PM
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has gained Olympic gold in cross-country mountain biking. In her personal nation, the Frenchwoman tolerated no opposition in one in all her final main mountain bike races. Dutch Puck Pieterse was in competition for silver for a very long time, however noticed a flat rear tire throw a spanner within the works. She got here fourth.
After the 2 particular person time trials on Saturday, the biking program on the Olympic Video games in Paris continued on Sunday with the ladies’s cross nation mountain biking. Prematurely, there was a number of fuss concerning the synthetic course on and round Elancourt Hill, the place the highest layer consisted of gravel. In keeping with high favourite Puck Pieterse and Dutch nationwide coach Gerben de Knegt, this might trigger harmful scenes within the slippery bends.
The course was additionally fairly technical, which made a very good begin much more necessary than ordinary. Round 2 p.m., the 35 girls began their Olympic battle. The debates have been opened by the Austrian Laura Stigger, one of many shadow favorites for a medal. Instantly in her wake we noticed the French girls Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Loana Lecomte, intently adopted by Puck Pieterse.
The opposite favourites have been already a bit additional away at that time within the race. The Swiss Alessandra Keller, the British Evie Richards and the Swedish Jenny Rissveds have been already ten seconds behind. Somebody just like the Hungarian Blanka Vas needed to give double that. The entrance of the race was subsequently instantly pushed arduous.
After one lap, the 4 have been already utterly free. Pieterse wished to show lap two on the entrance, however she was rapidly put in her place by the five-time world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. The Frenchwoman not solely took the initiative, but in addition stood firmly on the pedals on the climb instantly after passing the end line. Pieterse was effectively on the wheel, however needed to sit down rapidly and gave up a number of floor in a short while. After fifteen minutes of the race, Ferrand-Prévot was clearly alone.
Ferrand-Prévot dominated your complete race – photograph: Cor Vos
Very quickly she had a lead of half a minute on Pieterse and Lecomte, who within the meantime had thrown the fast-starting Stigger free. Pieterse in flip stated goodbye to Lecomte after twenty minutes of racing. The Dutch rider continued to lose time lap after lap to a powerful Ferrand-Prévot, however in flip she continued to extend her lead on the riders behind her. Lecomte, alternatively, got here to an entire standstill and was joined by Rissveds, Keller and Stigger. That tempo was additionally too excessive for the French rider, who fell drained and even needed to be carried off on a stretcher.
Ferrand-Prévot, alternatively, appeared very relaxed when she rode round. After 45 minutes of racing, she had a reassuring bonus of 1 and a half minutes, after an hour of racing, the hole was already over two minutes. Pieterse had additionally observed that silver could be the utmost she might obtain and stored a half-minute bonus on the pursuers. However after 55 minutes of racing, destiny struck for the Dutch: she needed to cope with a flat rear tire at a really dangerous time.
Pieterse not solely misplaced her complete lead on her pursuers on this method, however a subsequent wheel change – bike modifications are forbidden in mountain biking – within the materials publish additionally took up a number of time. When Pieterse had correctly set off once more, she already needed to make up forty seconds on Rissveds, Stigger, the American Hannah Batten and Alessandra Keller, who have been instantly in a position to combat for the silver medal once more.
Pieterse did present himself to be combative, and first rolled up Evie Richards after which additionally Stigger and Keller. Nonetheless, the battle for second place was fierce. Rissveds and Batten merely had too huge a result in make a medal real looking for Pieterse, who remained in fourth place. Batten took second place within the ultimate spherical, greater than three minutes behind a powerful Ferrand-Prévot, who had a dream farewell in his personal nation.
Ferrand-Prévot takes Olympic gold in Paris – photograph: Cor Vos
