As it happened: Faulkner solos to gold as Vos and Kopecky complete podium ahead of Vas in photo finish

The final podium. 

That brings road cycling to a close but the track cycling begins tomorrow with plenty of action on the velodrome. 

Stay with this live for plenty of reaction posts after an amazing race. 

And in Gold. Kristen Faulkner (USA). A magnificent ride and a deserving winner. 

In Silver. Marianne Vos (Netherlands) with a brilliant performance. 

In Bronze, Lotte Kopecky (Belgium).

Make sure you have a read of our post race report by clicking the link below…

>>> Paris Olympics: Kristen Faulkner shocks favourites with solo victory in women’s road race 

Kristen Faulkner (USA) after the finish:

“I feel like it’s a dream come true. I took a really big risk a few years ago to come to pursue my dream and I made it happen. It’s the best feeling in the world, I don’t know how to describe it.” 

Did you hope to win solo? 

“I had high hopes. I’m racing team pursuit in two days and so I said I’d only do the road race if I felt strong and felt I had a chance of a medal. I knew that it would be a really tough race but if I was racing, I was racing to win. That was a promise I made to my team pursuit teammates.” 

What was the plan with the final?

“I knew that Kopeckly wanted to catch the front two, so I knew she’d ride with me. I also knew that if we caught them, then I had to attack because I couldn’t beat any of them at the line. I knew the best place to attack was right after we caught them and everyone was tied. That was my chance. I practised my late attack several times this year, so I felt pretty comfortable with how to do it. I just hoped it worked.”

Did you know you’d won? 

“I was pretty sure I’d won but it was like ‘what in the world just happened?’ I couldn’t process it. It took me a few minutes. I had to double and triple check that I won gold. I knew it but I didn’t know it.”

An amazing moment for Faulkner and the USA. 

We can’t have an Olympic road race without…