For the second cycling event of the Olympic Games, the team went to Elancourt Hill, the highest point in the Paris region, just 45 minutes west of Paris, for the Cross-Country Mountain Bike events. Sunday was dedicated to the women's team. Team USA entered the day as one of the race favorites with two of the world's strongest riders: Haley Batten (Park City, Utah; Specialized Factory Racing) and Savilia Blunk (Inverness, Calif.; Decathlon-Ford Racing Team).
Thirty-six starters took to the line representing 28 countries. Blunk and Batten secured spots in the top ten on the call-up sheet, earning them prime positions in the front two rows. They would race 7 laps, totaling about 30-kilometers.
On lap one the riders were off to a quick start. A lead group quickly formed with the French powerhouses Pauline Ferrand Prevot and Loana Lecomte, along with Puck Pieterse (NED), and Laura Stigger (AUT). Batten and Blunk were sitting top-15 on the first lap.
By lap two, Ferrand Prevot was off the front, extending her lead by more than 30 seconds. Pieterse and Lecomte rounded out the medal positions followed by a chase group of four riders: Batten, Stigger, Jenny Rissveds (SWE), and Alessandra Keller (SUI). Blunk followed the chase in 16th.
Heading into the climb on lap four, the chase group remained 15 seconds behind those in medal position, and Batten was closing the gap on Lecomte as they neared the top of the hill. Tables quickly turned on the descent when Lecomte suffered a major crash that took her out of the race, and Batten broke a wheel. Batten recovered quickly but found herself at the back of the chase group battling for bronze.
Batten worked her way back up to Rissveds and Stigger who were leading the chase on Pieterse. On lap five, Pieterse flatted on the climb and had to descend with the flat tire, stopping in the tech zone. This left Rissveds, Stigger, Batten, and Keller fighting for podium positions.
Going into the penultimate lap, Rissveds and Batten grew their lead on the remainder of the chase group and were holding steady in medal position. During the seventh and final lap, Batten created a gap on Rissveds and crossed the line in second place, securing an Olympic silver medal and the best finish in American Mountain Bike history, from a man or woman, since its inception in 1996.
“I knew before Tokyo that this was the race I was focusing on,” said Batten minutes after crossing the finish line. "I’ve grown a lot since then. I’ve prepared much better. I’m one of the best athletes in the world, and I know I’m the best I’ve ever been. For me, the preparation has been in the details. Steady building every single year, just one step at a time. It takes time, you can’t rush it, but I really believed in myself today.”
Despite breaking a wheel in the first half of the race, Batten held her place in the chase group and relied on her preparation to stay in medal contention. “Right when I caught Loana [Lecomte] and was moving into bronze medal [position], I broke a wheel, and that was really disappointing. I was worried that I lost my chance at a medal today, but I stayed so calm. My mind was right in the place it needed to be, and I gave everything today.”
Blunk fought her way to 12th and joined Batten in delivering one of the highest placements for the United States in recent years.
1. Pauline Ferrand Prevot (FRA)
2. Haley Batten (USA)
3. Jenny Rissveds (SWE)
12. Savilia Blunk (USA)
The Mountain Bike races continue tomorrow, this time for the men. Christopher Blevins (Durango, Colo.; Specialized Factory Racing) and Riley Amos (Durango, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing) will take the start line tomorrow in Elancourt at 8:00am ET.
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