Perfection in Paris: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot wins cross country gold at home

After over a decade of chasing Olympic dreams, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot earned gold in the most dominant way possible. The French woman electrified a wildly supportive crowd at her home Games, attacking early on in the women’s mountain bike race to take gold.

Canada’s Isabella Holmgren, making her Olympic debut, rode to an impressive top-20 finish.

Elite women’s XCO: French dreams come home

With the Games returning to France and two pre-race favourites chasing Olympic glory, the women’s XCO had an absolutely electric atmosphere. The Games might have started off dampened by rain, but the sun was shining and the crowd was roaring at Elancourt Hills.

Early on on the first lap, a group of four started to escape. That was led by Austria’s Laura Stigger with Dutch favourite Puck Pieterse and French duo Loana Lecomte and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot both present. That group quickly splintered, with Stigger fading and, with quick attack just over 10 minutes in, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot going solo off the front to drop Pieterse and Lecomte. Lecomte would later crash hard in a man-made rock garden, a heart braking way to end her second Olympic appearance.

Ferrand-Prévot, though, was on the move. The highly decorated French woman has made a habit of attacking early, attacking alone, and not looking back at World Cups this year. Those were, as she has said, just preparation for the big show. As several riders, including South Africa’s Candice Lill, suffered mechanicals, Ferrand-Prévot built on her advantage every single lap of the race. By the penultimate lap, she had a full three-minute buffer over the second place group should any mechanical misfortune strike.

Disaster for Pieterse

Pieterse, who had been leading the chase for second, had less luck. Approaching two laps to go, a flat rear tire saw her caught, then dropped by a chasing group of four before she could reach the tech zone. The Dutch woman would change her tire and chase, but could only make it back to fourth before the finish line.

Behind Ferrand-Prévot, who looked unfazed by the effort as she continued to ride away from the field, a two-way battle formed. Jenny Rissveds, the 2016 Gold medallist in Rio, and the U.S.A.’s Haley Batten were locked into a race for silver. Batten had worked her way back up into the chase group after a flat tire on lap four. Over the final two laps, the Swede and the American tested each other, attacking and pushing the pace. The two went head-to-head at both Brazil World Cup rounds, each taking one win.

Up front, though, it was all about Ferrand-Prevot. While she was alone on course, an astounding three minutes ahead of second, Ferrand-Prévot rode with the whole of the loud French crowd alongside her. Looking calm, with just a glimmer of a smile as she passed the French team in the tech zone, Ferrand-Prevot stayed on the gas until the finish line was in sight. Then, with the crowd reaching deafening volumes, Ferrand-Prevot could finally celebrate.

A golden homecoming

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot takes the gold medal in the Paris Olympic Games. It’s an emotional win and, with the competition still minutes from the finish, it’s shared between the new champion and her adoring French fans.

In the race between Risked and Batten, round would go to the U.S.A. Batten earned a slight advantage on the last part of the last lap. Cresting the final hill, Batten had enough space to celebrate as she rolled across the finish line in second place. It’s a huge result for the U.S. rider. Jenny Rissveds takes bronze, completing a long, winding road back to the Olympic podium after her gold medal in Rio in 2016.

If you’re wondering if someone who already has 12 world championships to her name still cares about one more win, the waves of emotion from Ferrand-Prevot from finish line to podium should put that to rest. The French woman chased this win for over a decade, now racing gin her fourth Games. It is the one race where she not only doesn’t have a win, but doesn’t have a podium finish. Finally achieving her dream of gold, at home no less, is a storybook ending to what Ferrand-Prevot has said will be the final chapter of her mountain bike career.

A Canadians Olympic debut

Canada only had one spot in the women’s cross country mountain bike race, of a maximum two, but Isabella Holmgren put it to good use. The young Canadian is just 18 years old and already making her Olympic debut.

Holmgren was solid off the start, riding in the low-20s, on the wheel of New Zealand’s Samara Maxwell early on. The Orillia, Ont. rider worked her way forward over the first three laps, moving up into 17th, where she would finish the race. It’s a strong debut for the Canadian, and a promising sign of what she could be capable of in the future.

Isabella isn’t the only Holmgren competing in Paris, either. Her brother, Gunnar Holmgren, will race the men’s Olympic cross country race tomorrow.