Brown can retire with peace of mind, while Henderson cries with joy, and Dygart for third place

The women's Olympic time trial was one to remember. Many women crashed or rode quite cautiously due to the wet weather conditions in Paris. For many, it was a disappointment, but not for Grace Brown. The Australian powered through Paris like never before and convincingly secured the gold medal. Her lead over second place Emma Henderson was a minute and a half.

On the Australian team's website, she gave an explanation, in an understandably euphoric manner. "I had a plan to pace the race to win gold and I was able to execute the plan pretty much to perfection, if not better. I can’t ask for a better day, really," Brown opened. The most important thing was to stay upright in the rain, something she is good at.

Nearly-retired Brown on the rain and the importance of her team

"Rain doesn’t bother me too much. I know that you have to take the corners a little bit slower, be a little bit more conservative. But I know everyone was doing that. As long as you trust your equipment, then it’s fine. Towards the end I wasn’t taking any risk in those corners when I knew I was ahead," she continued. "My team has supplied me with all the equipment. Mechanics doing extra research to get everything dialled, going over the course, just looking after my every need."

Brown will retire from cycling after the Games, and she knows there's no better way to end her career. "I know that I’ve come here and given it everything and it’s paid off, and I can finish my career really satisfied."

Henderson cried tears of joy after silver, Dygart disappointed

Second place, the British Henderson, was ultimately more than satisfied with her silver medal. "I still can't really believe it," she said on her team Visma | Lease a Bike's website. "I secretly felt I could reach the podium beforehand, but to finish second behind someone like Brown is incredible. Along the way, I focused on my speed on the straight sections. The slippery corners were risky, so it was a matter of being cautious. When the last rider finished, I burst into tears," said the happy Brit.

In contrast to Henderson and Brown, Chloé Dygart did crash. She takes full responsibility for it. "I just didn't set it up well. I slipped right in. My own fault," she told Cyclingnews. Ultimately, Dygart expected more from the time trial. "I don't go to a race to lose. I won't be a sore loser, but everyone comes to win, everyone here who isn't on the top step will probably say the same. I need to get better myself. For now, it's wonderful that Grace Brown can end her career this way, kudos to her," were the kind words from the third-place finisher.