There was joy and pain as Team GB’s cyclists opened their Olympic campaign. Anna Henderson took a surprise silver medal in the women’s time trial, but the pre-race favourite, Josh Tarling, was knocked off the podium in the men’s event after being thwarted by a puncture.
If Tarling cut a forlorn figure after his race was convincingly won by the world time trial champion, Remco Evenepoel, of Belgium, Henderson, beaten by Australian veteran Grace Brown, was a picture of joy as she celebrated winning silver on her Olympic debut. After suffering two collarbone breaks this season, the 25-year-old said it had taken “a lot of blood, sweat and tears” to get to medal-winning form.
“I’m really thankful for everybody around me that got me here and everyone that got me through today,” she said. “I know I just had to turn the pedals, but there’s a whole huge group of people that got me here.”
However, Tarling, touted as the pre-race favourite by L’Equipe among others, was always playing catch-up after suffering an early puncture. Despite a strong fightback in the final kilometres, he was unable to close the gap to secure a medal and finished fourth.
“It was hard to get back into the rhythm and settle down and stop thinking after that,” the 20-year-old said. “Everyone else did such a good ride it would have been hard to catch back up.”
On a treacherous rainswept course that led to multiple crashes some riders crossed the finish line on Pont Alexandre III bloodied and bruised. Henderson was among those to stay upright. “I didn’t realise how slippery it was until I was on the course,” she said. “I thought: ‘I can lose a whole Olympic Games on one corner, so really take control and gain all the good time on the straights.’”
In a performance of controlled power, Henderson kept her head. She paid tribute to her coach, the former professional Chris Newton. “He did a really good job to keep me calm all the way through and really keep me pushing until the end,” she said.
Last year, in the World Championships in Glasgow, Henderson just missed out on a podium finish in the time trial. In Paris, the stars aligned and less than second, to her benefit, separated her from the bronze medallist, Chloé Dygert, of the United States.
“I was two seconds from the bronze at the Worlds, so I’m really happy to be on the right side this time,” Henderson said.
While Brown was a clear winner, the race turned on the fate of Dygert, who crashed heavily on a tight left-hand bend, struggled to gather herself, and could barely walk unsupported after the race. Henderson, whose grit and composure stood out, had flown under the radar in the build-up to the Olympic Games, despite finishing second in the women’s Tour of Britain. After suffering so much bad luck earlier in the year, she was ready to seize the day.
For Tarling, it was a case of what might have been, although he acknowledged that even without his puncture, he would still have struggled to match Evenepoel’s speed. “I was expecting it,” Tarling said of the Belgian’s winning ride. “He’s such a classy rider. No one can get close to him at the moment.”
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Unable to make up for the handful of seconds lost by his enforced bike change, Tarling was sixth-fastest after the first intermediate time check. “It’s easy to start flapping about and panicking,” he said. “The [team] car did a really good job of keeping me calm and I settled back into it.”
But he denied suggestions he could have won gold. “Everyone who got a medal deserved it. They all kept the pressure on, there was nothing I could do.”
Tarling has to regroup for the men’s road race next Saturday. “I’ll switch off tonight and switch back on as soon as we can for the road race, and try to forget about today,” he said.
Henderson, who is racing in the women’s road race 24 hours after Tarling, had some minor celebrations planned with friends and family. “French patisserie, I reckon,” she said.
“I’ve got the whole crew. I’ve got my boyfriend, my parents, my first team manager. Everybody’s here to support me and I’m so happy they could come.”