This was the first time in Olympic history that the men's and women's fields used the same course for the individual time trial. The women's individual time trial began directly before the men's race at 14:30 to 16:00 Paris time.
This also marked the longest women's time trial in Olympic history and was held under challenging weather conditions with slick roads due to rain.
The event featured a flat 32.4km course starting from the Esplanade des Invalides and finishing at the Pont Alexandre III bridge. The course included iconic Parisian landmarks such as Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Place de la Bastille, and Château de Vincennes. The course also contained intermediate time checks at the 13.1-kilometer and 22-kilometer marks.
Grace Brown of Australia won the gold medal with a time of 39:38.24, securing Australia's first gold in this event. Anna Henderson from Great Britain took the silver, finishing 1 minute and 31.59 seconds behind Brown. Chloé Dygert from the USA won the bronze medal, finishing 1 minute and 32.46 seconds behind the winner. Dygert was the expected favorite going into the day, but suffered from a fall under the slick conditions cutting significant time off her ride.
Brown was born on July 7, 1992, in Camperdown, Australia and currently rides for the UCI team FDJ–Suez. She began her cycling career in 2015 after transitioning from a background in running due to injuries. Brown quickly made a name for herself in the cycling world, winning her first national title in the time trial in 2019 and achieving significant victories in various international competitions.
She finished fourth in the women's individual time trial at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. She has claimed multiple Australian national titles in the time trial, with her most recent victory in 2024. Brown has also excelled in one-day races and stage events, including winning the prestigious Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes in 2024, making her the first Australian woman to win this classic race. She also earned silver medals in the time trial at the World Championships in 2022 and 2023. She announced her intention to retire from professional cycling at the end of the 2024 season.
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