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Jennifer Valente (USA) defended her Omnium title at the Paris Olympics, crushing the competition with an utterly dominant display across all four events.
The 29-year-old, world champion in the past two years as well as the reigning Olympic champion, eased to victory in the opening scratch race, stamped her authority in the tempo race, and was the last woman standing in the elimination race. In the final points race things opened up for a moment when eight riders stole a lap half-way through, but Valente almost immediately hit back with a lap of her own, which effectively sealed the deal.
She calmly negotiated the closing laps to finish the event on 144 points, 13 clear of Poland’s Daria Pikulik, who was in tears as she realised she’d won a silver medal. Bronze went to an equally thrilled Ally Wollaston, who like Pikulik rode an aggressive points race and was rewarded handsomely.
Britain’s Neah Evans also went out and raced it audaciously but had left herself with far too much to do after a disappointing start to the day. The 34-year-old crashed on the final lap of the scratch race and then launched a long solo attack in the tempo race that came to nothing.
After being the eighth rider out in the elimination race, she needed laps and miracles in the points race, and while she did take one lap and came close to stealing another at the end, she finished the event down in 15th place on 52 points.
Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky rode a strong elimination race and produced a late charge in the points race but the double laps gained by Pikulik and Wollaston put the medals out of reach.
Valente in control from start to finish
The modern Omnium comprises four events, all raced on the same day, and Valente set out her stall from the start in the scratch race, essentially a bunch race with points awarded on the finish line at the end of 30 laps. It was ca calm race, with France’s Valentine Fortin the only big attacker, but to no avail. As he pace ramped up going into the final lap, Evans looked to move up but found herself sandwiched between Kopecky and Germany’s Franziska Brausse. The space tightened, bikes touched, and she was sent to the deck.
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Meanwhile, Valente was winding up her sprint for the line to take the maximum 40 points ahead of Maggie Coles-Lyster and Georgia Baker (Australia).
The second race was the tempo race, where points are awarded every lap and 20 can be gained for lapping the field. Ireland’s Lara Gillespie stole an early march with a lap and would finish the race on top, but Valente was the one who was really in charge. As Gillespie got back on, she attacked to form a three-woman move with Baker and Pikulik. The trio worked together and, with lap-gain points only counting for the tempo race and not the overall, they were happy to actively avoid lapping the field in order to dangle in front and hoover all of the points up each lap.
Valente was first across the finish line to take her total at the half-way mark to 78, with Baker on 70 and Coles-Lester on 60.
Those three would be the final trio standing in the elimination race, where the last rider every other lap is hooked from the race. Pikulik was actually wrongfully taken out, causing a moment of chaos as the officials neutralised the race to let her back in. Coles-Lyster had a reprieve when the officials couldn’t determine that she was last with eight left in it, and she fended off Kopecky to make it to the final three before bowing out next. That left Valente and Baker, and if it wasn’t already clear enough, Valente surged clear of the Australian to take the victory and a stronghold on the event.
Still, a lot can change in the points race, 80 laps of the track with points on offer every 10 laps, the difference being the riders take their existing overall points-hauls in and play with them during the race. Valente added five points to her collection in the first sprint, but after four sprints the race opened up, with Evans making it into a four-woman attack with Pikulik that was soon joined by another quartet featuring Kopecky and Wollaston. The eight of them managed to come around but as they were doing so Valente launched a canny attack of her own, linking up with Denmark’s Amalie Dideriksen to complete a quick lap gain as the rest of the bunch regathered itself.
Wollaston soon went after it again and gained another lap on her own to move into silver medal position, but Pikulik soon followed suit to replace her, in another attack triggered by Kopecky. But Valente was already in the strongest of positions and simply had to keep a watchful eye and an upright bike in the final 10 laps.
Evans launched another attack and while she couldn’t gain a lap crossed the finish line first, collecting the double points on offer and effectively cementing the podium positions just before the rest of the field hit the line. Silver for the enterprising Pikulik and Wollaston, while Baker rode a quiet race and slipped to fifth, and Coles-Lyster toiled but slipped to ninth.
But the day belonged to Valente, who was in a league of her own.
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