Olympic Video games Race Report: In an thrilling finale to the ladies’s Olympic street race, America’s Kristen Faulkner put in a really late assault from the main group to take the Gold medal. In a really shut dash it was Marianne Vos of the Netherlands who took the Silver medal simply forward of Belgian Lotte Kopecky. Unfortunate Kata Blanka Vas (Hungary) was fourth and final within the main group.

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A shock assault from Kirsten Faulkner took the massive win

American Kristen Faulkner is surprisingly the brand new girls’s Olympic street race champion. Within the finale, she rode away from a bunch of 4 with Lotte Kopecky, Marianne Vos and Blanka Vas. Vos gained a silver medal, forward of Lotte Kopecky, who took dwelling the bronze.

Ladies’s street race map

The official begin is after 5 neutralised kilometres, then the primary climb comes after 10 kilometres. The Côte des Gardes (2.3 km at 5.4%) takes the riders by way of the Forêt Domaniale de Meudon to Versailles. After the Buc aqueduct, the riders begin a circuit of round 50 kilometres, with the Côte de Cistercian abbey of Port-Royal (1km at 5.2%). Fifty kilometres later they climb to Les Essarts-le-Roi (1.4 km at 3.1%), adopted 10 kilometres later by the Côte Cernay-la-Ville (1km 4.3%). The peloton passes the Château de Coubertin, the household dwelling of the daddy of the fashionable Olympic Video games, to climb the Côte de Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse (1.4km at 5.6%) and the Côte de Châteaufort (0.9km at 5.4%).

Ladies’s street race profile

Paris is reached after the climbs of the Côte d’Aqueduct de Buc (1.4km at 3.5%) and the Côte du Pavé des Gardes (1.2km at 6.3%), they descended these climbs earlier. After they get to the Louvre and the primary passage previous the pyramids they nonetheless have about 50 kilometres to go. On the Moulin Rouge, the race hits the Côte de la Butte de Montmartre, 1 kilometre, common 5.9%, most 8.6% and cobbles. The route by means of Montmartre finally arrives on the Place du Tertre. From the basilica, the riders descend earlier than the 2 smaller climbs on the circuit: The Boulevard Séruier (1.8km at 3.5%) and the Rue de Belleville (1.4km at 3.7%). They don’t seem to be tough, however there may be extra to the circuit than the climb of Montmartre, which is the most effective alternative for an assault. After the third Montmartre climb, the route heads to the end alongside the Seine for 3 kilometres. They flip proper on the Eiffel Tower to complete in entrance of the Trocadéro.

The Netherlands at all times have a robust group: Lorena Wiebes, Marianne Vos, Demi Vollering and Ellen Van Dijk

The 65-year-old French legend, Jeannie Longo, fired the beginning gun. She gained the Olympic title in Atlanta 28 years in the past. The primary assault of the day got here from Awa Bamogo from Burkina Faso, however her try solely lasted for 15 kilometres. Subsequent to go was Slovakian, Nora Jencusova, however nobody got here to hitch her. Ultimately the Afghan sisters Yulduz and Fariba Hashimi launched a counter-attack, with the Israeli Rotem Gafinovitz, Thai Thi That Nguyen and the Belarusian Hanna Tserakh. They needed to shut a spot of greater than 2 minutes to Jencusova, which lastly occurred with about 100 kilometres to go. The Uzbek Olga Zabelinskaya additionally tried, however failed. The peloton was not nervous and the six have been allowed to take some minutes lead. The Netherlands group began to work as they’d three high favourites within the race, and so Ellen van Dijk went to the entrance.

Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky is at all times an excellent guess

At 68 kilometres from the end, the finale began for actual. The main group fell aside, however within the peloton the primary assaults got here from riders who needed to anticipate the massive favourites. On the entrance, Tserakh Fariba Hashimi was left with two others. On the again; Spanish rider, Mavi Garcia began the enjoyable. Garcia was one of many favourites and so Marianne Vos took up the problem. Somewhat later, Demi Vollering did the identical in response to assaults by the British riders Anna Henderson and Elizabeth Deignan and the Canadian Alison Jackson.

The beginning

However at the moment they have been solely testing one another, the true variations solely got here 20 kilometres in a while the Montmartre climb. On the bend earlier than the climb, the Swiss rider Elise Chabbey crashed and in doing so took half the peloton together with her. An excellent many riders have been held up, and on this method, a number one group emerged. Of the Netherlands group, solely Marianne Vos was there, additionally the Italian Elisa Longo Borghini and Elizabeth Deignan have been the most important names who had survived. With Pfeiffer Georgi and Anna Henderson, Deignan needed to helpers, who have been fascinated by retaining the tempo excessive. The Swiss rider Noemi Rüegg, American Kristen Faulkner, German Liane Lippert, Hungarian Blanka Vas and Spain’s Mavi Garcia have been on the entrance.

Britain’s Pfeiffer Georgi was within the motion all day

The large absentees have been the Belgians, who had the highest favorite in Lotte Kopecky. Kopecky noticed the hazard and jumped throughout on the climb of the Montmartre herself, which noticed off Lorena Wiebes. Longo Borghini and the British riders tried to stop Kopecky from catching them, however the Belgian closed the hole of about 15 seconds with an issue. The Netherlands group didn’t need to be away with Kopecky. Demi Vollering began to work within the peloton along with the French. The entrance group prolonged their led in a short while. They quickly had 30 seconds and it seemed like they’d battle it out for the medals. There was some nervousness on the entrance and this brought on just a few assaults.

Elizabeth Deignan and Anna Henderson tried a shock transfer

The second time as much as Montmartre was arduous, however after {that a} tactical sport began. The British riders and Longo Borghini made a transfer, however it was not the proper second. Marianne Vos had waited and on a barely uphill stretch, she joined forces with the Hungarian Blanka Vas, who’s in the identical professional group as Kopecky. However Kopecky began to play poker and missed the transfer. Behind; everybody simply checked out one another, permitting Vos and Vas to achieve over 30 seconds.

Katarzyna Niewiadoma seemed robust, however missed the transfer by Vos and Vas

That they had a most lead of 40 seconds, however they nonetheless had the final climb of Montmartre to come back. The state of affairs all of the sudden modified. American, Kristen Faulkner attacked the pursuers and rode virtually your entire cobbled climb on her personal. She dropped rider after rider, till solely Kopecky was on her wheel.

The followers have been out once more on the steps of the Sacre Ceur

The flat finale was going to be thrilling. The 2 teams of Vos/Vas and Kopecky/Faulkner stored one another in verify with a spot of round 5 seconds between them. It was not clear for a very long time whether or not they would get collectively, however when the 2 leaders began to play poker a bit, Kopecky and Faulkner joined them. The American let Kopecky shut the final hole and instantly jumped away from behind her. Vas tried to shut the hole, however she bought no help. The American didn’t know what was taking place behind and simply put her head down and stored pushing arduous just like the observe pursuiter she is. The chase had no likelihood and Faulkner took the most important victory of her profession. Behind her, Lotte Kopecky launched a protracted dash, however Marianne Vos got here previous within the final metre. Vas was fourth and off the rostrum.

Kristen Faulkner solo

Olympic Ladies’s Highway Race Champion, Kristen Faulkner (USA): “I had practiced that late assault just a few occasions. It seems like a dream come true. I took a giant danger just a few years in the past to come back and chase my dream. I’ve now made it come true and it’s the finest feeling on the planet. I don’t actually know how you can describe it. I had fairly excessive expectations. Look, I’m doing the group pursuit in two days. I solely needed to do the street race if I felt robust sufficient and felt like I had an opportunity to win a medal. That’s the solely cause I used to be right here. I knew it could be a troublesome race, however once I was right here, it was with these large ambitions. I promised my teammates that. There have been just a few moments when Kopecky didn’t need to co-operate, however I needed to let her work. I knew how a lot she needed to win and get to the entrance. However I additionally knew that I must assault, as a result of I usually couldn’t beat any of them within the dash. The most effective place to assault was proper after we got here collectively. Everybody was drained and that was my likelihood. I had tried my late assault just a few occasions this yr. I felt very snug with it, I had practiced it properly. And it labored. I used to be fairly certain I used to be going to win, however to be sincere I used to be additionally pondering: what on the planet is going on? I couldn’t course of it, it was too large to grasp what had occurred. That lasted a couple of minutes the place I used to be double and triple checking it.”

The dash for Silver and Bronze was shut

# All of the Olympic biking information in EUROTRASH Monday, #

Olympic Video games Ladies’s Highway Race Consequence:
1. Kristen Faulkner (USA) in 3:59:23
2. Marianne Vos (Netherlands) at 0:58
3. Lotte Kopecky (Belgium)
4. Kata Blanka Vas (Hungary)
5. Georgi Pfeiffer (Britain) at 1:21
6. Margarita Victoria Garcia (Spain) at 1:23
7. Noemi Rüegg (Switzerland) at 2:04
8. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Poland) at 2:44
9. Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy) at 3:05
10. Marta Lach (Poland) at 3:27.

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