Henderson wins time trial silver but Tarling hopes are punctured

Great Britain’s Anna Henderson won a cycling road time trial silver medal on her Olympic debut on the rain-soaked streets of Paris.

The 25-year-old, who has twice broken her collarbone this season, stopped the clock on Pont Alexandre III in 41 minutes 9.83 seconds.

Gold went to Australia’s Grace Brown who, in a remarkable performance, finished more than a minute and a half quicker than Henderson, with the United States’ world champion Chloe Dygert taking bronze.

“I had a small feeling that maybe I could push for the podium,” Henderson told BBC Sport.

“To be second behind somebody like Grace Brown, I can’t believe it! I burst into tears when I found out!

“All the effort this year has been worth it. It has been a really rough year, so to achieve a goal like this is unbelievable.”

Dygert was one of several riders who came off their bikes on the slippery roads. The main consequence of her fall was that she lost the near 15-second advantage she held over Henderson at the first time checkpoint.

The American’s finishing time was less than a second slower than that of Henderson, who became Team GB’s second medallist of Paris 2024 after the earlier synchronised diving bronze for Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen.

Dygert’s compatriot Taylor Knibb had multiple falls, her mechanic also hitting the deck as he ran on to the course with a replacement bike.

It was a battle to stay in the saddle, and Henderson was relieved to come through the stiff test.

“I missed the Worlds podium last year by two seconds and I was thinking to myself ‘this is not going to happen again’. So I kept pushing all the way to the line,” Henderson added.

“[They were] really horrible conditions out there today so I was really thankful that I could just stay upright on my bike.

“I was a bit of a grandma on the corners, but that paid off and I used my power on the straights.”

Henderson, who away from the Olympics rides for Visma–Lease a Bike, only started cycling nine years ago having initially dreamed of going to the Winter Games.

A former alpine skiing national junior champion, suffering a broken leg at the age of 15 resulted in her taking to two wheels as part of her rehab, and it would change her sporting path.

Now a double national time trial champion, she won European silver last year after a fourth-place finish at the World Championships.

With the men’s event coming up later on Saturday, the Paris time trials mark the first time men and women have raced the same course over the same distance in Olympic history.

Starting on the Esplanade des Invalides, the 32.4km route heads east out of the city through Bois de Vincennes before looping back via the Bastille and finishing on the celebrated bridge of Pont Alexandre III.

Team GB’s world bronze medallist Josh Tarling is the sole British rider in the men’s time trial.