Jubilee Post News & Views
Special Desk
Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten thought she made a gold but the medal went to her rival Austria’s Anna Kiesenhofer.
Well the story goes like this. Annemiek van Vleuten raised her hands is confidence of winning a gold. The fact was Anna Kiesenhofer had finished 75 seconds ahead of her and already secured victory. But for lack of communication device Annemiek couldn’t get this.
Honor went to Austria’s Anna Kiesenhofer, who capitalized on her rival’s confusion in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic women’s road race to secure a shock win. “When I crossed the line, I thought I had won,” said Van Vleuten who got the silver then.
The 30-year-old Austrian broke away from the peleton more than 40 kilometers from the end, holding her own on a demanding 147-kilometer course in the intense heat to win Austria’s first cycling gold medal since 1896. Kiesenhofer spent much of the rest of the race so far ahead of the chasing pack that she was out of sight of the other cyclists.
Cyclists race without earpieces at the Olympics and that played a part in Van Vleuten’s confusion, according to the 38-year-old Dutch woman. “This is an example (of what happens) if you ride an important race like this without communication. All World Tour races have communication, and now it’s the three of us standing here and wondering who has actually won,” added Van Vleuten, referring to teammates Marianne Vos and Anna van der Breggen. “I’m gutted about that, of course,” said Van Vleuten.
“I’m really proud of the medal, because I did not have an Olympic medal. It’s also a silver medal with a shine on it, because I felt super good today,” Van Vleuten who won the gold said.
