Paris 2024 Olympics: France's Ferrand-Prévot Wins Women's Mountain Bike Race

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Paris, Jul 29: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot of France clinched the women's mountain bike race at Paris 2024 on Sunday (July 28), at Élancourt Hill. This victory filled one of the few gaps in her illustrious career.

The French star completed the cross-country Olympic (XCO) course in 1:26:02. Haley Batten (USA) secured second place, trailing by +2.57, while Jenny Rissveds (SWE) finished third, +3.02 behind.

Race Details and Competitors

The competition saw 36 women aged between 19 and 35 from 28 nations tackling seven laps of a challenging man-made course. The course f

eatured fast compacted gravel, a wooden drop-off, and tough rock garden sections. Despite these challenges, Ferrand-Prévot's pace was unmatched.

French rider Loana Lecomte, who won the test event on this course in 2023, started strong and was soon joined by Ferrand-Prévot. They were accompanied by Puck Pieterse from the Netherlands and Austria's Laura Stigger.

Ferrand-Prévot's Strategy

"I've worked so hard for today. And I wanted to go full gas… I felt amazing today. I can't believe it!" said the new Olympic Champion, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. "I thought 'it's not possible, it's not possible, it's not me, it's a dream.' And I was just so happy to see my parents after the finish line."

"My coach said yesterday, 'Pauline has to take this race like a normal race'. So I said 'ok, I will do as if I was in a UCI World Cup.' I wanted to stay in the wheels… and then push hard and make them suffer. I felt quite strong and went my own pace. It was all about pushing hard on the climbs, and not going slow on the downhills but just trying to recover."

Key Moments in the Race

A sharp acceleration by Ferrand-Prévot on lap two created a 30-second gap from Pieterse and Lecomte. The chase group lagged another 20 seconds behind.

Pieterse faced issues with a soft rear tyre and was overtaken by Rissveds, Stigger, Batten, and Keller at the start of the penultimate lap. Batten and Rissveds then collaborated to secure their positions for the remaining medals.

Challenges Faced by Competitors

Lecomte slipped back to join the chasers before crashing on the rock garden descent. South Africa's Candice Lill suffered mechanical issues that affected her performance.

The leading quartet included top riders like Jenny Rissveds (2016 Olympic Champion), Italy's Martina Berta, UCI World Cup overall leader Alessandra Keller (SUI), Haley Batten (USA), and Great Britain's Evie Richards (2021 UCI World Champion).

Ferrand-Prévot's dominance grew as she maintained her lead throughout the race. Her titles include UCI World Champion for road cycling, cyclo-cross, gravel racing, XCO, mountain bike marathon (XCM), and cross-country short track (XCC).

The Paris 2024 women's mountain bike race showcased intense competition and remarkable performances from top athletes worldwide.