Jennifer Valente concluded her Olympic journey at the Vélodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines with a resounding victory, successfully defending her Olympic omnium title and claiming her second gold medal within four days. The American flag was a common sight at the Paris Games, waving proudly after numerous cycling events. The American team achieved a remarkable feat, securing three gold medals and a total of six, marking their most successful Olympic performance in cycling for forty years. Valente’s triumph capped off a phenomenal week for the US team. The 29-year-old San Diego native finished with 144 points in the final event of the cycling program, comfortably ahead of Daria Pikulik of Poland and Ally Wollaston of New Zealand, who completed the podium. “It’s been a really long week of racing,” Valente shared. “I raced (team pursuit) qualifying over a week ago, and we had some really good performances, so to pull it off on the last day, I’m really excited.” Another standout American athlete, Kristen Faulkner, also secured two gold medals in Paris, winning the Olympic road race and collaborating with Valente, Lily Williams, and Chloe Dygert to win the team pursuit. The team’s three gold medals and six total victories represent their most significant performance since the 1984 Los Angeles Games, where they achieved four gold medals and a total of nine. The final session of cycling featured a thrilling men’s keirin race, where Harrie Lavreysen of the Netherlands emerged victorious, claiming his third gold medal of the Paris Games. He edged out Australians Matthew Glaetzer and Matthew Richardson in the finals. Meanwhile, Ellesse Andrews of New Zealand celebrated her second gold and third overall medal by dominating Lea Friedrich of Germany in the sprint finals. The session commenced with the scratch race, the first event in the omnium. This event requires riders to complete 30 laps as quickly as possible. Valente, echoing her strategy at the Tokyo Games, skillfully navigated the race, employing a cat-and-mouse approach to maximize her points. As the peloton approached the final lap, two of Valente’s primary rivals, Lotte Kopecky of Belgium and Neah Evans of Britain, collided. Kopecky ultimately finished 17th, potentially jeopardizing her medal prospects, while Evans crashed and finished last. In the tempo race, where a point is awarded to the leader of each of the final 25 laps, Valente, Pikulik, and Georgia Baker of Australia launched an early attack. They collaborated effectively to share the remaining 21 sprint points. The elimination race, where riders are eliminated every two laps, saw Valente maintain control. On the final lap, she overtook Baker to secure maximum points once again. This victory gave Valente a 10-point lead entering the points race, where points are awarded to the top four riders in sprints every 10 laps. Additionally, riders can earn a 20-point bonus by lapping the field, which Valente achieved with 36 laps remaining. Valente’s significant lead allowed her to maintain her position without any major setbacks. “I definitely went into a points race looking at the couple of people that were trailing me and the points gap,” she said. “I was pretty happy to let some other people take points and trying to kind of just let the race evolve.” In the keirin, world champion Kevin Quintero of Colombia and two-time world silver medalist Jeffrey Hoogland of the Netherlands were eliminated in the same quarterfinal. Only the top four riders in the six-rider field advanced to the semifinals. The finale witnessed a significant crash as Lavreysen approached the front stretch. Kaiya Ota of Japan swerved and collided with Jack Carlin, sending the British rider crashing to the ground. Carlin remained motionless for a moment before medical personnel rushed to his aid. Fortunately, Carlin was able to stand and walk off the track. Lavreysen, who previously secured gold in both the sprint and team sprint earlier in the week, completed his dominance by claiming the keirin title. He missed out on achieving a trifecta at the Tokyo Games, settling for bronze in the keirin. “I felt really strong the full week,” Lavreysen stated. “This morning, I thought, ‘It is possible’ — but I needed to ride the perfect final, and I was really close.” Richardson earned the keirin silver medal, adding to his earlier silver in the sprint and bronze in the team sprint. Glaetzer also secured his second bronze medal at the Paris Games, having competed in the team sprint for Australia. Andrews, whose father, Jon, competed in the 1992 Barcelona Games, showcased exceptional riding skills in the best-of-three sprint final. The 24-year-old from Christchurch won the opening race from the lead, holding off Friedrich to the finish line. In the second race, she executed a powerful move, overtaking her German rival from the outside to secure the gold medal. Andrews also triumphed in the keirin and joined Rebecca Petch and Shaane Fulton to claim silver in the team sprint. “I’ve been sprinting since I was 19. I’ve been riding a track bike since I was 13, 14 years old,” Andrews said. “It’s been a 10-year dream to be here and not one that I always thought was possible.” In the race for sprint bronze, Emma Finucane of Britain dominated Dutch rider Hetty van de Wouw, winning both races from the front. This marked Finucane’s second medal after her bronze in the keirin. “I would have loved to win gold, but that bronze medal means everything to me,” Finucane shared. “For the last two races, I gave everything. I have nothing else to give.”
Valente Defends Olympic Omnium Title, US Cycling Team Shines in Paris
