Crash chaos at Olympic Games time trials, as GB's Anna Henderson wins silver before Josh Tarling denied medal by agonising puncture in sodden Paris

Soaking wet Paris roads, crashes and punctures contributed to an enthralling afternoon of time trial action at the Olympic Games, Great Britain's Anna Henderson winning silver before Josh Tarling's brutal mechanical saw him miss out on bronze by two seconds on an afternoon when Australia's Grace Brown and TT world champion Remco Evenepoel won Olympic gold.

The bookies had USA's Chloé Dygert and Brit Tarling as the pre-race favourites, but both suffered misfortune at the hands of Paris roads made treacherous by a non-stop downpour that has drowned the French capital since before last night's soggy opening ceremony.

While Dygert was one of many to hit the deck during the women's event, Tarling's bad luck came in the form of a puncture, the dejected 20-year-old telling the TV cameras there had been "a lot of swearing" when he flatted, a valiant effort leaving him agonisingly just two seconds behind Wout van Aert who won bronze.

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Tarling's dad had only got hold of a ticket for the seats at the finish line hours before the start, a last-minute social media appeal getting him in in time to see the gut-wrenching drama unfold, Evenepeol winning gold ahead of Filippo Ganna and Van Aert.

In the women's race, Brown stormed to the biggest victory of her career, a success made sweeter by it coming in her retirement year, Henderson taking silver and Dygert bronze. 

🗣 "I burst into tears when I found out!" 🥺

Just looks what it means to Anna Henderson to become an Olympic silver medallist 😁🥈#Paris2024 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/3f6nS2sMMT

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 27, 2024

"I was a bit of a grandma on the corners but that paid off and I used my power on the straights, and here I am," Henderson told the BBC afterwards. "It is really strange, I kind of blacked out through the whole thing. I knew I had to be super cautious because a lot of the girls had problems today. I am just really happy to be here and happy it paid off."

Talking of those to have problems, USA's Taylor Knibb fell four times, as even the staff member tasked with delivering her a spare bike struggled to stay upright.

pic.twitter.com/Bel1BeLbkC

— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) July 27, 2024

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Lotte Kopecky, Magnus Sheffield and numerous others all crashed, Ganna somehow keeping his Pinarello upright during this scary moment.

Absolutely amazed that Filippo Ganna kept that up whilst riding in the TT bars!#Paris2024 #Olympicgames pic.twitter.com/HnGm12a73v

— Mathew Mitchell (@MatMitchell30) July 27, 2024

Evenepoel had complained about the "shit" roads the route was using, but was one of the few riders to enjoy a seamless passage, the Belgian adding Olympic gold to the world champion's rainbow jersey he earned a year ago in Scotland.

His compatriot Van Aert can count himself somewhat fortunate that Tarling's puncture ensured him a bronze, although considering the classics star's horrendous injury-hit year and comeback from a horrific crash in the spring, he would perhaps argue he was due a bit of luck.

Riding an eye-catching double disc wheel set-up, the Visma-Lease a Bike rider embraced Evenepoel at the finish, the pair undoubtedly looking to add to their medal haul in next weekend's road race. 

 Deflated on and off the bike, Tarling deserved credit for his reaction to the adversity, pushing the medals so close before providing an admirable reflection on his afternoon to the BBC afterwards.

"The stars were miles apart today [they did not align]," he said. "It was a front puncture near the rim, I had no choice really but to make the change before that corner and then try my best. [There was] a lot of swearing. There's not a lot I can do really. A bit of bad luck. We move onto the road race. I'm going to keep trying my best and we'll see."

One of those swear words made it into Tarling's Eurosport interview, the Ineos Grenadiers rider summing his day up... "Shit happens, innit."

All involved will hope the weather improves before next weekend's road races, the Accuweather radar from this afternoon making grim viewing. Tough conditions for any bike ride, let alone a city centre time trial and cobbles.