Rebecca Henderson has enjoyed her best Olympic result, while French star Pauline Ferrand-Prevot has fulfilled her destiny by winning mountain biking gold at the Paris Games.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Henderson - who joins Anna Meares and Lauren Reynolds as the only Australian female cyclists to compete at four Olympics - was 13th on Sunday at Elancourt Hill, south-west of Paris.
The 32-year-old would have finished higher, but suffered a puncture on the second-last of seven laps of the tough 4.4km circuit.
Ferrand-Prevot, the five-time world champion, took the lead on lap two and was never headed.
She won in one hour 26 minutes two seconds, with American Haley Batten 2:57 behind for second.
Swede Jenny Rissveds took the bronze.
It ws Ferrand-Prevot's first Olympic medal after she finished 10th in Tokyo and failed to finish in Rio.
Henderson, who finished 6:42 behind the winner, had a previous Olympic best of 24th in London on debut.
It was a welcome change of fortune for the Australian, who had endured a difficult season that she had said had almost been a disaster.
Henderson was unsure whether this would be her last Olympics.
Australian Associated Press
