An unfortunate mechanic has become an instant social media star after challenging weather conditions wreaked havoc for the road cyclists in today’s women’s individual time trial in Paris.
The non-stop rain has threatened to put a dampener on the opening day of this summer’s Games, 24 hours on from a spectacular – if soggy – opening ceremony on the River Seine.
Adverse weather even forced Olympic organisers to postpone the men’s skateboarding to Monday, with the surface at the Place de la Concorde deemed unsafe for competition this morning.
It therefore came as no surprise that the individual time trial course – spanning 32.4 kilometres from Invalides to the Alexander III bridge – proved extremely tricky for the female riders doing battle in the French capital this afternoon.
Even before the heavy downpour during the individual time trial, several riders had voiced their concerns over the dangerous conditions upon inspection of the route.
‘The road surface is pretty bad in the beginning and in the end,’ Belgian world champion Remco Evenepoel said.
‘That might be a problem if you have black spots in front of your eyes in the last kilometres.’
Dutch cyclist Ellen van Dijk, meanwhile, highlighted there were ‘a lot of bumps and holes’, criticising the surface which she argued was ‘not as good as you would expect’ in certain areas for ‘such a big event’.
There were several falls across the course as the chaotic individual time trial played out across the early afternoon, with the sharp bends proving a significant challenge in the puddles and rain.
Taylor Knibb fell off her bike a total of four times, the first coming just three minutes into her run, and the US competitor made the decision to change her bike at a crucial stage on the route.
However, the mechanic tasked with bringing the American her new bike completely lost his footing and went flying through the air. Thankfully, he was able to regain his composure and quickly returned to his feet.
At the conclusion of this afternoon’s chaotic competition, an ecstatic Anna Henderson got her hands on Team GB’s second Olympic medal of the Games with a second-placed finish.
Henderson powered home in 41 minutes and nine seconds to claim silver behind Australian rival Grace Brown, who bettered the Brit’s time by 90 seconds.
US rider Chloe Dygert had to settle for bronze after falling less than a second short of Henderson’s time.
Earlier in the day, Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen capitalised on a late Australian slip-up to clinch Britain’s first medal of the Games in the women’s synchronised 3m springboard diving event.
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