The joy inscribed on his face, his hands triumphantly raised above his head, and the subsequent cold shower as they led the cyclist out of error. This is what the end of the women’s road Olympic race looked like on Sunday for Annemiek Van Vleuten, who believed that she was the first to cross the finish line.
However, the finish line was passed a minute earlier by the Austrian Anna Kiesenhoferová, who finished the race with a time of 3:52:45. “When I crossed the finish line, I thought I had won,” CNN quotes a Dutch cyclist who eventually won a silver medal in the race.
Annemiek van Vleuten won the silver medal, Elisa Longo Borghini the bronze. Annemiek didn’t know that there is another rider up the road so she celebrated the victory. Must have been a terrible feeling when she realized what happened…. ???? #CyclingRoad pic.twitter.com/BgkARUxB7c
– Mihai Simion (@ faustocoppi60) July 25, 2021
According to the already mentioned American website, Kiesenhofer, 30, showed her life performance. She broke away from the leading group more than 40 kilometers before the end and then kept on the leading position on a demanding track 137 kilometers long, despite the intense heat. For Austria, it won the first gold cycling medal since 1896.
“It’s unbelievable,” says AP Kiesenhofer, who some participants probably simply forgot during the ride. “I sacrificed so much for today. I didn’t expect to end up like this. “
The Austrian victory was surprising also because Kiesenhofer does not have a professional cycling contract or coach. She also takes care of her own diet and creates training plans herself. In addition, her resume includes academic achievements rather than cycling; She is a graduate of mathematics and obtained a degree, for example, at the Technical University of Vienna or at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, where she obtained a doctorate.
“I knew someone had to be in the front. I didn’t know who it was, but I knew that someone else must be there, “the AP quotes the last medalist of the race, Elisa Longo Borghini, who took bronze from Sunday’s track. It is said that she was to find out that one of the competitors took the lead thanks to the number of overtaken cyclists and thanks to the Germans along the track, who informed their Olympians about the gap that separates them from the first place.
Unlike other world professional events, Olympic riders cannot communicate with their team via walkie-talkies. This was apparently a stumbling block for both Van Vleuten and her three Dutch co-drivers, who, like her, were unaware that an Austrian cyclist was in front of them on the track.
“This is an example of what happens when you drive an important race like this without communication,” CNN quotes Van Vleuten. “Of course I’m upset,” the Dutch cyclist added, noting that she was still proud of her silver medal. “My goal was to be here with the best level and I think I managed it. It’s not the result we were hoping for, but I personally think I did a really good race. “
Tokyo 2021 – Special News List
SUCH Original information from Tokyo, reports, profiles of winners – HERE
For example, the website of the local public television NOS has already written about the fact that the Dutch team did not meet expectations. He considers the slow onset of Dutch cyclists to be a mistake, which Kiesenhofer was subsequently able to use. Thirty-eight-year-old Van Vleuten, who was also one of the race’s favorites, also had to deal with a collision with a Danish cyclist on the track.
Czech Olympian Tereza Neumanová finished 33rd in the race.
