CyclistThe best cycling moments from the 2024 Paris OlympicsThe Olympics might be over for another four years, but they once again provided us with some sensational cycling moments across the multiple disciplines of road, track, mountain bike and BMX. Here are eight of the bestRoad cycling Kristen Faulkner flies the coopZac Williams/ZW PhotographyAt the end of a dramatic womens road race, Kristen Faulkner embarked on a last-ditch solo breakaway to become the first American woman in 40 years since Connie Carpenter-Phinney to win the gold medal. Dropping her rivals of Marianne Vos (Netherlands), Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) and Blanka Vas (Hungary) in the final 3km, the Alaskan native, who only secured a spot on the start line after the United States Taylor Knibb pulled out to focus on the triathlon, powered to the win in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.If that wasnt enough, Faulkner doubled up on gold medals with womens team pursuit success against New Zealand on the velodrome too. Related Posts The Olympics needs to add these five cycling events Pro Log: All the cycling action from the Olympics so far Show of relentlessness wins Olympic gold for Tom Pidcock Remco Evenepoel does the double despite dramaZac Williams/ZW PhotographyAnother rider to secure double gold was Belgiums superstar Remco Evenepoel. A week after time-trialling his way to victory on treacherous wet roads ahead of Filippo Ganna (Italy) and fellow countryman Wout van Aert, he was back in action for the mens road race. He lived up to the hype and then some.After bridging across to the leading group he immediately began to drop riders, with Valentin Madouas of France the last man standing. Evenepoel surged away on the penultimate climb and embarked on a 15km solo ride to the finish line. However, it wasnt without some late dramatics.In the last kilometres with the gold medal practically already around his neck, a puncture left Evenepoel screaming for a new bike. No race radios meant he had no idea of Madouass position on the road. The camera motorbike couldnt help him either. Eventually he was relayed the information that Madouas was a minute down and Evenepoel could provide the public with a touch of dramatic flair at the finish line.Track cyclingHarrie Lavreysen is the fastest man on two wheels@UCI_TrackDutch sprinter Harrie Lavreysen successfully defended his sprint and team sprint gold medals from Tokyo at the Paris Olympics, even going one better and adding the keirin to his palmars. The 27-year-old headed into these Games as one to watch, bolstered by his multiple World and European Championships titles in both the sprint and team sprint.In qualifying for the sprint, he set a new world record of 9.088secs, and in the final won the first two races against Australias Matthew Richardson for the gold medal. The Netherlands team set a new Olympic record in qualifying, their three riders of Lavreysen, Roy van den Berg and Deffrey Hoogland hitting a time of 41.279secs over the three laps. They pushed this even further in the gold medal matchup against Great Britains Jack Carlin, Ed Lowe and Hamish Turnbull, setting a new world record of 40.949secs.It was a messy finale for the mens keirin. A crash in the final corner took down Carlin (Great Britain) and Shinji Nakano (Japan), with Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom (Malaysia) being relegated. Lavreysen was already ahead, his gold medal never in danger, with the Aussie duo of Richardson and Matthew Glaetzer finishing on the podium.Lavreysen was able to dispatch his rivals with ease throughout multiple disciplines in the Olympics. He now has five gold medals and one bronze. Great Britains Jason Kenny holds the record for most Olympic golds (seven) and Olympic medals (nine) for a cyclist. Its hard to sustain such dominance over multiple Olympic cycles, but Lavreysen will only be 31 years of age at the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. He could well be on his way to rivalling Kenny.Team sprint gold for Great Britain@UCI_TrackGreat Britains Katy Marchant, Sophie Capewell and Emma Finucane won gold against New Zealand in the womens team sprint final, setting a new world record of 45.186sec in the process. It was the third WR they had set throughout the event, previously hitting 45.472sec in qualifying and 43.338sec in the first round against Canada.It was Great Britains only gold medal on the track. The host nation of France topped cyclings overall medal table with three golds, three silvers and three bronze medals. Netherlands finished second and Australia third. Its the first time since the 2004 Athens Olympics that Great Britain has not been at the top of the rankings. However they did take home the most medals, with 11 in total (two gold, five silver, four bronze).Italian joy in the Madison@UCI_TrackIn the beautiful chaos of the madison track race, Italys Vittoria Guazzini and Chiara Consonni hang-slung their way through 120 laps and managed to lap the field, gaining the 20 points that would ultimately secure gold with 37 points in total.The Netherlands also lapped the field and finished on 28 points, but Great Britains duo of Elinor Barker and Neah Evans won the final sprint with double points on offer to leapfrog them to silver. Guazzini and Consonni burst into tears as the realisation of gold hit them.Portugals first track cycling gold medal@UCI_TrackThe 200-lap mens madison race saw multiple crashes on the banks of the Vlodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, but from out of this maelstrom Portugals Rui Oliveira and Iri Leito managed to win all four of the last sprints on offer to surpass Italys duo of Elia Viviani and Simone Consonni, who had been leading for the majority of the race.Ive never won a single race in my life, Oliveira said. There have been so many disappointments through the years. If someone had said youd win your first race at the Olympics in Paris, Id say Youre kidding me. Were not even close to being the favourites but we ride our hearts out.Mountain bikingTom Pidcock, Pauline Ferrand-Prvot prevail Alex Broadway/Getty ImagesIn one of the best races of the Olympic Games, a dramatic showdown commenced on the final lap of the mens XC MTB race. After an early puncture forced him out of the leading duo, Great Britains Tom Pidcock worked his way back through to pack over the next half an hour of racing to join Frenchman Victor Koretsky and South Africas Alan Hatherly at the head of the race.Koretsky and Pidcock would trade blows, each attacking and swapping places with a gold medal up for grabs. It was on the final part of the course where the trees split the racing lines that would prove the decisive moment. Pidcock went left and just came out in front of Koretsky, who went right, and the duo came together. Pidcock pulled away as Koretskys momentum was disrupted. The Brit arrived at the finish line to a chorus of boos from the French crowd, but he successfully defended his Olympic title.UCI MTBIn the womens race, Pauline Ferrand-Prvot cemented her status as one of the best riders to ever grace the sport. Ferrand-Prvot has won almost everything, including World Championships across road, cyclocross, mountain bike and gravel, but the Olympic title in XC MTB is one that has eluded her.After distancing her rivals on just the second lap, she quickly built a lead impossible to pull back and won the gold medal by almost three minutes in front of a celebrating home crowd. She was embraced by silver medallist Haley Batten of the United States and bronze medal winner Jenny Rissveds of Sweden before standing on the top step of the podium.It was her final MTB Olympic race as she will switch back to road racing in 2025, with her eyes on the Tour de France Femmes.BMX RacingAn all-French podiumJeux OlympiquesIt was a dream scenario for France in the mens finale of BMX Racing. Joris Daudet, Sylvain Andre and Romain Mahieucame home for gold, silver and bronze that marked a home nations first podium sweep at the Summer Olympics in a century.Winner Daudet boasts 12 World Championship medals but had never been able to score a medal in the last three Olympics. Andre finished off the podium in fourth at Tokyo. Then their home Games came around.After a historic 1-2-3, they were impossible to tear from the track on the outskirts of Paris in front of a roaring home crowd. When the delayed womens race could eventually get underway, Australias Saya Sakakibara won gold. Her partner Mahieu, who had just won bronze, was waiting for her after the finish line.Great Britains Beth Shriever couldnt replicate her success from Tokyo, finishing last in the final, but gave one of the most heartfelt interviews after her 8th place. She said, Ive loved every single second being here. Sometimes it cant always go to plan, but thats just life. I gave my all into this. Im happy, Im healthy, Ive got my friends and family here and thats what matters.Ive never experienced anything like [the French 1-2-3]. Insane. Ive had a great time and it is what it is its all good. Im happy.The post The best cycling moments from the 2024 Paris Olympics appeared first on Cyclist.