The Olympic champion in the women's cycling race is Kristen Faulkner from the USA. Noemi Rüegg from Zurich finished a strong seventh. She is just over a minute short of a medal.
04.08.2024, 18:33
04.08.2024, 19:11
SDA
For Faulkner, it is the biggest success of her career. The 31-year-old American, stage winner at the Tour de Suisse two years ago, won solo after 158 km. 58 seconds behind her, three-time world champion Marianne Vos from the Netherlands won the sprint for second place against Belgium's Lotte Kopecky and Hungary's Blanka Vas. While the co-favorite Kopecky could console herself with bronze, Vas came away empty-handed.
Rüegg with an exclamation mark
Noemi Rüegg was also within striking distance of the medals for a long time. The 21-year-old from Zurich was part of a leading group around the eventual medal winners. It was only just under 10 km before the finish that Rüegg had to break away on the last of three climbs to the Sacré-Cœur pilgrimage church. She reached the finish in seventh place, a good two minutes behind the Olympic champion Faulkner. Not many would have thought the Swiss champion capable of this before the start.
Chabbey crashes
The chances of Elise Chabbey, the clear leader of the four-strong Swiss team in the absence of Marlen Reusser, were greatly diminished after a crash just 50 km before the finish. The Geneva rider fell through no fault of her own after a collision with the American Chloé Dygert, and although she later managed to catch up with the chasing group, she was no longer able to intervene in the battle for the medals. Chabbey, who came seventh in last year's World Championships, finished the race in 18th place, five minutes behind the field.
Anna Kiesenhofer, the Austrian surprise Olympic champion from three years ago in Tokyo, dropped out of the decision 66 km before the finish.
