There were quietly high hopes that Britain’s Evie Richards would manage to grab a podium place. Taking advantage of a few literal slip ups on the course – it had rained overnight and changed the conditions significantly from the men’s race the day before – Richards did manage to get near the front of the race, but never went past leader Jolanda Neff.
Screenshot credits: BBC
Even racing legend Pauline Ferrand-Prevot came a cropper on the slippery course, having a nasty time sucking tumble on a rocky incline and seeing her bike fall back down the hill. Prevot put in a very impressive effort to catch back up with the chase groups, but couldn’t catch the Swiss one-two-three of Jolanda Neff, Sina Frei and Linda Indergand.
Neff’s technical skills – and perhaps wise choice of dropper post – saw her out in front and dominant, with team mates Frei and Indergand battling it out for the silver and bronze medals. All the way round the final lap they swapped places, but in the end it was Frei that took the silver. Evie Richards finished in 7th place, off the podium, but still an excellent result, Ferrand-Prevot was 10th.
The Swiss 1-2-3 should certainly help the Swiss disappointment with yesterday’s results in the men’s race.
