Wet conditions make for two interesting Olympic individual time trial events

The first official day of Olympic competition was as damp as the opening ceremonies. There may not have been the hope of a Céline Dion performance, but that didn’t keep the cycling fans away. Umbrellas helped carve the spectators’ positions along the barricades and in the stands lining the finish line of the individual time trial course. It was the first time in Olympics history that both the women and men shared the same route. The 32.4-km out-and-back started at the Esplanade des Invalides, cut across the city, through the Bois de Vincennes, and then turned back, ending on the Pont Alexandre III.

Boat tours drifted along the Seine, under the action, with the Eiffel Tower serving as a quintessential Parisian backdrop behind the hot seat. The announcer and music worked to keep the crowds engaged as the weather just refused to let up throughout the day. It was a soggy walk around the venue itself, so it’s hard to imagine having to head out on a bike.

Women’s TT

There was a lot of cautious cornering, but slippery corners and the white road paint lines took out several riders, including many favourites—some more than once. Even a mechanic did an unfortunate face plant, trying to run a bike to a downed cyclist in the women’s race.

The time of Canada’s Olivia Baril put her in 20th place. Grace Brown of Australia and Anna Henderson of Great Britain both had strong rides despite the icy conditions and were jubilant with their Gold and Silver medals. And a fall may have eliminated an opportunity at gold, but Chloé Dygert of the U.S. was already on a tear and mentioned the adrenaline that helped her manage to win the bronze. “It’s been a long road to get back to the Olympics,” said Dygert, who has had a number of setbacks these last handful of years. “I’m very thankful. This has been a true blessing and I’m grateful for all the support.” Dygert said she wouldn’t complain about the weather, because she does enjoy riding wet conditions and is used to how icy and slick the roads can be.

Baril said she was content with her ride, but is looking ahead to the road race.

“The course was very flat.  So it doesn’t necessarily suit me best as the type of rider that I am,” she said. “It was quite rainy, but rainy for everybody. It made the streets of Paris very slippery. I’m happy because I stayed upright on my bike. Which is important, contrarily to a lot of my competitors who crashed today, unfortunately. The preparation to get here was the best I could do.  I gave it my all today. So, I couldn’t have asked for better. I’m super motivated now for the road race.”

Brown is set to retire at the end of the season. She acknowledged all the people who have supported her and given her the strength to go after a medal. “I was coming here to do my fastest, strongest race that I could do. Whatever the result was after the line, I was going to be happy with it as long as I executed my race as best I could,” she said. “I was able to execute everything the way I planned. It was almost a perfect race.”

Men’s TT

The rain continued as the men’s race began. By this point, people were huddled in rain jackets, some with bags covering their heads. But it was obvious fans were reluctant to leave, now that some of their Tour de France favourites were about to head out on course.

Fresh off his first Tour, Derek Gee’s time put him in 20th. After the race, he said he didn’t quite have the post-tour legs he was hoping for, but he will focus now on the road race, with almost a week to recover. “The conditions were very tricky and I knew my form would be challenged a bit,” Gee said. “It was a tough race for sure. I think that kind of form after the Tour will work better for the road race. Because it’s a longer effort and with Mike Woods coming up, we’ll have some good chances.”

Remco Evenepoel of Belgium may have had some less-than-stellar things to say about the course, but he had a stellar day with a gold medal win. Filippo Ganna of Italy took home the silver medal and Evenepoel’s Belgian teammate Wout van Aert took home bronze.

“It wasn’t very pleasant, but it doesn’t matter, I won, so I don’t care anymore,” he said when asked about his course comments in the post-race press conference. Despite those pre-ride thoughts, he said: “It’s every four years we get a chance to win this one.  So it was the last championship I had to achieve in my career in the time trial aspect. I think that list is boxed off let’s say. But it’s just incredible to be able to win this after already an amazing Tour. Beating two legends in cycling is crazy and amazing. It’s one of the most beautiful moments in my life and career for sure.”

Van Aert happy with bronze

Van Aert, who brought a lunch bag to the post-race press conference, asked if he could eat some of his noodles before starting. But he was up for answering questions after having a few bites. “It means a lot not only after crashing out in the spring,” he said. “It’s the biggest event there is for a sportsman. For us in cycling it’s maybe always a bit underrated because it’s just part of the season lets say. When you’re here you start to realize that it’s way bigger than all the other races we do. So I’m really proud to have [another] medal.”

Next up for both the men and women is the Olympic road race. That takes place Saturday August 3 (men) and Sunday, August 4 (women).