On the ultimate day of the 2024 Paris Olympic Video games, reigning Olympic champion Jennifer Valente (USA) maintained her focus all through the four-race ladies’s Omnium, securing the gold medal as soon as once more.
Valente’s gold medal is her fifth Olympic medal general, earned throughout three Olympic Video games, and her second gold of those Video games. She beforehand gained a silver in staff pursuit on the Rio 2016 Olympics and each a silver and gold on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“There’s nothing higher than this and I am tremendous, tremendous happy and enthusiastic about this,” Valente stated.
“I feel every Olympic medal is approached as its personal entity and also you goal a race and also you do what you possibly can to arrange and that’s typically both a complete quad, it is a four-year course of and even an eight-year course of or a complete profession course of. And so choosing occasions and specializing in these and actually focusing on what you are attempting to perform.”
“Every Olympic medal is its personal course of and its personal journey.”
The technique on the ultimate day of racing on the Olympics was to remain calm within the scorching velodrome.
“Staying cool, not overheating was a giant one, however so far as racing goes, taking every race as a stand-alone principally and actually form of come out swinging for every one after which reset for the following race.”
After inserting first within the scratch race and second within the tempo race, Valente led the whole Elimination race, choosing off rivals one after the other. By ending first within the third occasion, she added 40 factors to her whole, extending her result in 10 factors over Australia’s Georgia Baker.
The American rider knew that something might occur within the chaotic remaining race, the factors race.
“An omnium is definitely not over till it is all the way in which over and bunch racing might be so unpredictable and numerous issues can occur, there might be crashes, individuals can take a late lap or, or, and each time there are factors, the leaderboard reshuffles a bit of bit,” she stated. “So it’s important to proceed to judge what’s taking place.”
After incomes 5 factors within the first dash of the factors race, Valente intently monitored Baker, who was narrowing the hole. With underneath 50 laps to go, a number of riders lapped the sector, every gaining 20 factors. Sensing the urgency, Valente made a decisive transfer to affix them, efficiently lapping the sector and including 20 essential factors to her whole. Valente clinched the Olympic title with 144 factors.
Whereas each Pikulik and Wollaston compete on the highway with Ladies’s WorldTour groups—Human Powered Well being and AG Insurance coverage-Soudal, respectively—Valente views herself primarily as a monitor racer.
“I am a monitor racer earlier than I’m the rest the place numerous my rivals I feel are highway racers or cyclocross or mountain bikers or wherever they arrive from and throughout disciplines loads.
“The monitor is so distinctive, it is so quick, it’s so many issues taking place and the sensation that you simply get, going as arduous as you possibly can right into a bend and you may really feel your self being pushed in opposition to the monitor, you possibly can really feel the pace and, and every thing, that’s most likely what I really like probably the most – simply driving the monitor and racing the monitor.”
When requested if she deliberate to compete on the 2028 Los Angeles video games, Valente replied “I feel I will try to rush to get to the Closing Ceremony proper now. That is the one factor I am desirous about.”
