Jenny Rissveds, the 22-year old Swedish rider, raced to a gold medal in women’s mountain biking beating out a field that included seven world champions. Rissveds was the youngest rider on a course with competitors aging from 22 – 44.
Poland’s Maja Wloszczowska was near the lead until Rissveds pulled away. The 32-year old Wloszczowska, who won the silver medal in Beijing, will take home another silver medal from Rio.
Canadian Catharine Pendrel outraced her teammate Emily Batty to pick up the bronze. Pendrel is currently ranked second in the World Cup overall standings.
The pre-race favorites struggled on the course. Denmark’s Annika Langvad had to stop to change a punctured tire on the third lap and could never recover. She ended up finishing 11th.
Another favorite Jolanda Neff from Switzerland was in contention for the gold during the first half of the race, but lost steam and finished in 6th place. American Lea Davison had some early problems with her drivetrain and never could pose a threat to the leaders. She ended up with a 7th place finish.