Faulkner bluffs her way to gold Olympic medal, outsmarting Kopecky and Vos

157.1 kilometers, starting from Paris. After endless discussions about various scenarios, one came true: a breakaway full of unknown names. After Awa Bamogo from Burkina Faso briefly led, six women eventually found each other. Nora Jencusova (Slovakia) initiated it and was joined by Afghan sisters Yulduz and Fariba Hashimi, Rotem Gafinowitz (Israel), Thật Nguyen (Vietnam) and Hanna Tserakh (neutral flag).

In the peloton, new attacks were neutralized by Ellen van Dijk, who took the lead for the Dutch from the very start, keeping the pace steady. No scenario like in Tokyo, where Anna Kiesenhofer had a lot of space and took gold. The loop from Paris and back to the French capital proceeded in a status quo. Van Dijk allowed the six a maximum of six minutes, but towards the local circuit, that difference quickly decreased.

As the crowds increased towards the last sixty kilometers, the riders knew they were almost back in Paris. Good news, because the road immediately went up again, and it was time to race in both the lead group and the peloton. Fariba Hashimi and Tserakh proved the strongest at the front, while in the pack, one after another tried to position themselves for the finale. Anna Henderson, Silvia Persico, Emma Norsgaard... Big names were already in the mix, and the Netherlands had to respond. Van Dijk was dropped after her hard work, leaving the task to Marianne Vos and Demi Vollering.

That went well for a long time, even though attacks continued when entering Paris. Vos also went for it once, but when we saw the Louvre 47 kilometers from the end, only Hashimi and Tserakh were still ahead, but the peloton was still complete (albeit thinned out). As Montmartre loomed, tensions rose... Let the spectacle begin!

As they approached the Paris climb, Chloé Dygert caused a crash. The American tried to pass Swiss rider Elise Chabbey on the inside, where it wasn't possible. Both went down, but more importantly, many big names were held up. Kopecky, Wiebes and Vollering suddenly had a gap to close. Vos was ahead with Elisa Longo Borghini, Lizzy Deignan, Mavi Garcia, Liane Lippert and Blanka Vas.

Kopecky knew what to do, crisis management! She charged over the cobblestones of Montmartre and quickly got the leading group in sight. While she rejoined, Vollering stayed with Wiebes in Montmartre, trying to get her back to the front at her own pace. They received no support, making a 40-second gap seem like an impossible task. At the front, they realized that with Wiebes, the fastest woman was trailing, so they kept a strong pace. Vollering didn't gain a second, with 35 kilometers remaining until the finish.

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With almost a 50-second gap, Vollering and Wiebes started the second Montmartre climb under some serious pressure. A crucial phase, which began poorly for the chasers due to attacks by Henderson and Garcia at the front. Vos saw the danger and chased, while Kopecky didn't have the legs. The leaders flew over the cobblestones, and Garcia's effort thinned out the group. Wiebes used the climb to go all-in one last time, joined by Kasia Niewiadoma and Swedish Caroline Andersson, but their gap grew as they reached the top. That's a wrap...

The focus shifted forward, where the winner was riding. Pfeiffer Georgi, perhaps? The Brit had two teammates, but Georgi seemed the most dangerous. She broke away, and Kopecky had to do everything to bring the group back. Nine women remained: Kopecky, Vos, Georgi, Longo Borghini, Garcia, Lippert, Vas and American Kristen Faulkner. With the leaders taking a breather as we were heading into the final 20 kilometers, British riders Deignan and Henderson rejoined. Deignan broke away, with Vos and Vas tagging along. They even pushed Deignan aside and continued together.

The move by Vos and Vas seemed harmless, but as Kopecky didn't immediately react and the others couldn't, the two leaders quickly gained half a minute on the chasing group. Kopecky was in a tight spot, similar to Mathieu van der Poel. Everyone looked at her, with one lap and one more climb of Montmartre to go. Kopecky then got lucky as Faulkner, Garcia, Georgi and Noemi Rüegg (who had returned to the front) helped. Thus, they started Montmartre with a 32-second gap.

Faulkner seemingly wasn't feeling her legs, going hard on the cobblestones with Kopecky in tow, closing to within five seconds of Vos and Vas. It was still a gap, with Vos and Kopecky both going to their limits. Six kilometers left, both duos alternating... Five seconds, then seven, then six again. Faulkner took massive turns and brought Kopecky into the wheel in the last three kilometers. A sprint of four? No, Faulkner went over and beyond, and as Vas seemed to close the gap, the Hungarian stopped. "You do it," she seemed to say to Vos and Kopecky. They didn't, allowing Faulkner to deservedly take the gold after an insane race. Vos sprinted to silver against the other runner-ups, Kopecky took bronze, and Vas, in hindsight, would probably have been better off continuing...