On a day that was expected to belong to the powerhouse nations of Belgium or the Netherlands, it was Kristen Faulkner of the United States who slipped the leash with 3 km to go, leaving Marianne Vos (Netherlands), Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) and Blanka Vas (Hungary) to wrestle over the lower steps of the podium.
Faulkner had been a vital cog in a select lead group that escaped in the central Paris circuits, but with 20 km to go, Vos and Vas took advantage of a move from Lizzie Deignan (Great Britain) to escape the group which contained one of the top-tier favourites in world champion Kopecky. As their advantage nudged 40 seconds, it looked like the win would go to Hungary or the Netherlands, but Faulkner hit out again on the last ascent of the Montmartre climb and was not fazed by Kopecky’s presence on her wheel. The pair made the catch just outside the 3km-to-go mark, and Faulkner did not hesitate in launching off the front again. One look around, and it was done.
Faulkner – who, don’t forget, was a late addition to the American line-up – won by a massive 58 seconds, and she kept riding all the way through the line. Almost a minute later, Vos won the three-up sprint for silver, while Kopecky held on to take bronze by a whisker.
How it happened
- After about 50 km of racing, the women’s Olympic road race settled into familiar formula as lone leader Nora Jenčušová (Slovakia) was joined by a five-strong group comprising Hanna Tserakh, Thị Thật Nguyễn (Vietnam), Rotem Gafinovitz (Israel) and the extraordinarily resilient sisters from Afghanistan Fariba and Yulduz Hashimi. With 100 km to go, the gap had extended to five minutes.
- The Hashimi sisters are living an awe-inspiring dream at these Olympic Games. 24-year-old Yulduz and 21-year-old Fariba, who was flag bearer at the opening ceremony, are now based in Europe where they race for the WCC Team having fled their home country on an Italian evacuation flight after the Taliban retook control in 2021. It’s reportedly thanks to contacts in the world of cycling that they were able to leave and pursue their dream of competing on this stage after they saw their rights smothered four years after they’d taken up cycling, which they’d had to do in disguise to keep even their family from learning they were racing. That they’re now in Paris and showing off their indomitable spirits in the breakaway of the women’s road race, is demonstrative of what the Olympics are all about.
- Even with 100 km remaining, five minutes to the six leaders, and Ellen van Dijk very much in charge of the peloton, some of the relative underdogs, including South Africa, Spain and Switzerland, set about attempting to disrupt the favourites’ rhythm.
- There was a brief lull in action around the halfway point, but it all began to kick off again on the Côte du Pavé des Gardes (1.3 km at 6.3%), the last climb before the central Paris circuits. Still a little over three minutes ahead of the peloton, the breakaway disintegrated on the steady ramp, Tserakj and Fariba Hashimi going it alone with almost 70 km to go.
- When the peloton hit the same climb, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (South Africa) and Mavi García (Spain) were among the first to turn the screw once more, acting as the catalyst to repeated moves off the front of the bunch as Ellen van Dijk began to fade.
- The attacks came thick and fast from the peloton for a whole 20 km, all the way onto the finishing circuit.
- Then all at once, with the two surviving breakaway riders still a handful of seconds clear, there was drama for two American riders of two very different kinds: Chloe Dygert crashed in the corner near the bottom of the crucial Montmartre climb, forcing a race-defining split in the peloton, just as teammate Kristen Faulkner accelerated at the front of the bunch, sweeping up Tserakh and Fariba Hashimi, and pushing on.
- Top favourite Kopecky was among those delayed by the crash, but the Belgian climbed to the Sacre-Cœur like a Duracell bunny to link up with a lead group that swelled to 12 with her company, and a strong 12 it was: Marianne Vos was in there for the Netherlands, Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini, Marta Lach (Poland), Noemi Ruëgg (Switzerland), Kristen Faulkner (USA), Mavi García (Spain), Liane Lippert (Germany), Blanka Vas (Hungary), and three Brits, Lizzie Deignan, Anna Henderson and Pfeiffer Georgi.
- Meanwhile, though Vos was up ahead, the Netherlands were engaged in a fierce chase for their chosen rider Lorena Wiebes, Vollering left to her own devices in towing a group of favourites that hovered about a minute down, as Justine Ghekiere acted as a brake for Belgium on Vollering’s wheel.
- Up ahead, the British trio tried to use their strength in numbers to trouble their solitary rivals, Deignan and Henderson taking it in turns to attack while Georgi sat in the group for later opportunities.
- It was ultimately a Hail Mary from Deignan – set up by Henderson after they’d both come back from being dropped – that drew out what looked like the winning move from Marianne Vos and Blanka Vas, at first just closing down the former world champion, then leaving her behind and finding a sizeable gap.
- A bit of looking around in the chase, Kopecky not willing to do too much work, while García was among those desperate to get things moving, meant that the duo stretched their advantage to over 30 seconds by the foot of the final ascent of the Côte de la Butte Montmartre.
- The Spaniard was in her element once more as the gradient lifted, but then Faulkner put the hammer down, taking only Kopecky with her as she ate hungrily into the gap.
- By the time Vos and Vas passed beneath the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur at the top of the climb, their lead was down to just a handful of seconds.
- However, it took almost six kilometres for Faulkner and Kopecky to finally claw their way back into gold-medal contention, the American tagging the leaders 3.4 km from the line.
- Faulkner barely even took a breath before she moved up to the front as they crossed the Seine, and then accelerated again.
- Vas seemed to react instinctively at first, but then pulled up and looked over her shoulder at Vos who looked over her shoulder at Kopecky as all three of them stopped pedalling.
- In seconds, it was done. They’d let her go. All of them fast finishers, they must have seen it coming from Faulkner, but they did nothing about it.
- Gold was gone, and their margin to the next group on the road was good enough that the trio could watch each other in the final run-in to the line, where Kopecky led it out. Vos quickly moved ahead and stayed there when she launched her sprint, but it was close, and Kopecky took bronze from Vas in a photo finish.
Olympic road race Top 10
- Kristen Faulkner (United States) 3:59:23
- Marianne Vos (Netherlands) +0:58
- Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) st.
- Blanka Vas (Hungary) st.
- Pfeiffer Georgi (Great Britain) +1:21
- Mavi García (Spain) +1:23
- Noemi Ruëgg (Switzerland) +2:04
- Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Poland) +2:44
- Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy) +3:05
- Marta Lach (Poland) +3:27
Quotes of the day
I feel like it’s a dream come true. I took a really big risk a few years ago to come to pursue my dream and I made it happen. It’s the best feeling in the world, I don’t know how to describe it … I had high hopes. I’m racing Team Pursuit in two days and so I said I’d only do the road race if I felt strong and felt I had a chance of a medal, and that’s the only reason I’m here … I was racing to win, I wasn’t racing to participate.”
Faulkner said, oozing confidence, at the finish.
Faulkner races in the women’s team pursuit qualifying round on Tuesday afternoon at 1730 local time, linking up with a formidable American selection that includes her road race teammate Chloe Dygert, Jennifer Valente, Lily Williams and relative newbie Olivia Cummins.
For me [it was] kind of a shit final … Before Montmartre, I was already a little bit behind and I had to make the effort or I‘d never be back in the race. Then there was attacking and gambling. And yeah, when Marianne [Vos] and Blanka [Vas] were in front, I knew it [would be] really hard to get them back once they had 30 seconds, but we managed to come back. But in the end, she [Faulkner] went and the three of us, we looked at each other.”
A very disappointed Kopecky said before collecting her bronze medal.
Brief analysis
- While the big-name teams like the Netherlands and Belgium embarked upon fairly predictable race plans, it was the dark horses like Faulkner who made the race what it was in the end, that is, a true spectacle. What seemed to set Faulkner apart is that she was focused on her own race, she managed not to get bogged down by the chatter around the likes of Kopecky and anyone in an orange jersey, taking it on almost as soon as the race hit the Paris laps – she made the race her own. This approach was really laid bare in the finale when she not only dragged the top favourite back into contention, but then attacked the group. She knew she’d have to go long in that company, and she knew she could make it happen.
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