Annemiek van Vleuten bemoaned another Olympic mishap and broke down in tears as she explained a calamitous oversight after finishing second in Sunday's women's road race when she presumed she had won.
The Dutch rider, who had been a pre-race favourite and set her sights on a gold medal after a horrific fall ended her hopes in Rio de Janeiro five years ago, sprinted away in the closing stages from the chasing bunch to cross the line with a broad smile and fists pumping at the Fuji Speedway.She had been unaware of an early break by unknown Austrian Anna Kiesenhofer, who rode clear of the field to record a sensational upset and grab gold.
"Yes... I thought I had won. I was wrong," Van Vleuten tearfully told reporters as Dutch media labelled it a major blunder. "Yeah, I'm really proud of it. I mean, it's a silver medal, but it does have a bit of a shine to it. And it's also my first medal, isn't it? I do have an Olympic medal. A lot of people would kill for that.
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