#Jenny Rissvelds

[womensworldtour]

We'll admit that we don't give mountain biking enough attention around here. Sorry, MTB fans, our hearts lay on the road, but when we remember to look, can be very fun and exciting! It can also be a bit predictable, with some dominant racers, and the Olympic mountain bike race was won by the odd-on favorite, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. She was battling it out with the young Dutchwoman Puck Pieterse for much of the race, with a chase group including American Haley Batten, Austrian Laura Stigger, and Swede Jenny Rissveds, who won Gold in Rio. Ferrand-Prévot eventually left Pieterse behind, and then Pieterse flatted out of the chase group, allowing Ferrand-Prévot to celebrate with her home crowd as she crossed the line almost 3 minutes ahead of the chasers.

The French fans were so loud and so excited, this was genuinely so fun to see. How awesome is that, to have the French rider win on her home soil?

Behind, the battle for the rest of the podium was very close. American Haley Batten had flatted and broken a wheel in the rock garden on lap 4, but the tire stayed on and she managed to limp in to the service area. Batten's rival, Jenny Rissvelds, told the mechanics "Haley has a flat!" as she passed, and Batten's mechanic was ready with a quick change. Batten was able to catch up to the chase group, and really drove the pursuit. In the final lap it came down to Batten and Rissvelds, and Batten had more in the tank and drove on for Silver.

Rissvelds was close behind in Bronze, an incredible performance from that rider, who spent years off the bike to deal with depression and an eating disorder. Her return to form, and the the sporting spirit in assisting a competitor and friend, is the stuff of Olympic legends. How can you not cry with them when Batten and Rissvelds hugged at the finish?

And here's the podium, this was a pretty great race!