Road Cyclist Chloe Dygert Crashes And Still Crushes A Third-Place Finish In Women’s Time Trial
by Lisa Costantini
PARIS — The first day of competition at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 felt like a continuation of the Opening Ceremony with rain and drama in the forefront once again.
The first road cycling event of the Paris Games saw multiple crashes and upsets thanks to the rain-slicked roads and inconsistent terrain. But that didn’t stop Team USA’s Chloe Dygert from coming away with the bronze medal, even if her body had to take a beating to get it — something she is used to.
Nearing the end of the course, the 11-time world champion crashed going around the corner just as the road turned to cobblestone. At the time she was doing a good job of challenging the fastest time, which belonged to Australia’s Grace Brown, who ultimately won gold. Coming in with a time of 41:10.70, Dygert was one second behind the silver medalist (Great Britain’s Anna Henderson).
As the last to race the course, that was not the last event for Dygert who still has two more events to compete in: the road race and the team pursuit.
Unable to stand on her own while speaking to media after the race, Dygert shared, “My leg is definitely hurting, so we’ll go home and do everything we can to make sure that I am in the best care possible to hopefully start the road race and the team pursuit.” On her to-do list next was to “get treatment done and pray to God my leg will be okay,” she shared.
After a silver medal in Rio in the team pursuit and bronze in Tokyo in the same event, Dygert was looking to finish on top of the podium. But after starting the 2023 season off with a crash, the 27-year-old was just happy to be in Paris.
“I’m grateful to be here,” she said, unable to hold back tears. “It’s been a long road to the Olympics, so I am just very thankful.”
Her teammate, Taylor Knibb — who is the only U.S. athlete competing in Paris in more than one sport — also crashed on the course, getting back up multiple times.
“We can count them: number one, I (crashed) going around the roundabout; got up and went into the motorbike immediately. So, is that one or two?” she asked after crossing the finish line. “Then I went around on a turn, I think I went down a third or fourth time, I guess, and then I changed my bike.”
So new to the event, Knibb joked that she doesn’t even have the terminology down. “Please correct me,” she asked the journalists after the race while speaking about her 19th-place finish.
After initially qualifying in triathlon, this was the defending world champion in the Ironman 70.3K first time racing in the time trial at the Olympics.
Despite finishing 16th in Tokyo in triathlon and second in the mixed relay, the defending world champion in the Ironman 70.3K was still a bit of a wildcard.
Asked if she had any advice for the men who were due to race the course next, the 26-year-old laughed, “I am probably the worst bike handler out there. Don’t take advice from me. You guys know what you are doing. I don’t.”
The Team USA men proved more successful on the course than Knibb with a fifth-place finish for Brandon McNulty and 16th for Magnus Sheffield.
Lisa Costantini has covered Olympic and Paralympic sports for more than a decade, including for the International Olympic Committee. She is a freelance writer who has contributed to TeamUSA.com since 2011.