Not even a flat tyre and broken wheel could stop Haley Batten on her mission for success in the Paris 2024 Olympics mountain bike cross-country race, with the 25-year-old taking a stunning silver medal in Élancourt - the USA’s best-ever result in Olympic MTB competition.
Batten was in a chase group behind the three leaders, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Loana Lecomte (both France) and Puck Pieterse (Netherlands) on the fourth lap, when suddenly she disappeared from the broadcast, later revealing that she “destroyed” her back wheel and was forced to limp to the technical area for a wheel change.
“I got a flat tyre, I actually destroyed a wheel today. So right when I caught Loana [Lecomte] and was moving into bronze medal [position], I broke a wheel,” Batten told reporters including Cyclingnews at the finish.
“That was really disappointing, and I was worried that I'd lost my chance at a medal today. But, you know, I stayed so calm, my mind was right in the place that it needed to be and I gave everything today.
“I'm surprised I'm still standing right now.”
The American fought hard with her “whole heart and soul” to overtake several riders and rejoin the chasing duo of Laura Stigger (Austria) and Jenny Rissveds (Sweden) on lap five. She then proved to be the strongest in the final two laps, benefiting from a puncture for Pieterse and eventually gapping former Olympic champion Rissveds to claim silver behind a dominant Ferrand-Prévot.
There were suggestions of a protest from the Dutch team after Batten rode through a feed zone without taking a bottle, however, she was just fined 500 Swiss Francs for the incident and saw no challenge from Rissveds in third, who dismissed it and accepted bronze.
She gave big praise to her mechanics for doing such a quick change, also crediting Rissveds for helping her produce a higher level in such a tense hour and a half effort. The pair fought hard but rode well together to keep the likes of Pieterse and Evie Richard (Great Britain) behind in the race for bronze and silver.
“Me and Jenny [Rissveds] have been racing at every single race this year. She's made me a better athlete. I knew when we were together in those last two laps, it'd be really, really hard to beat her, and I put my whole heart and soul into today's race,” said Batten.
“I knew, after she gave a couple of really big attacks, that she might be burning a few too many matches. And I just had something special inside of me today. My legs never hurt. For some reason, I don't know, I just wanted it so, so bad.”
Batten paid huge tribute to those who came before her for USA MTB, notably two-time Olympian Lea Davison and bronze medallist from London 2012 Georgia Gould, both of whom inspired her to be a mountain biker pro and mentored her throughout her journey to Olympic silver in 2024.
It was a tough road for Batten, who after finishing on the podium of the World Championships cross-country in 2022, had a tough 2023 season derailed by a nasty concussion. Once again she was full of gratitude for USA cycling coach and three-time Olympic gold medallist Kristin Armstrong’s help.
“I really wanted to podium at World Championships last year so that I could qualify for the Olympics the year in advance, focus on this race. But I got injured and I had a concussion. I had to skip that race,” said Batten.
“But I have the best coach in the world - Kristin Armstrong - she's won three gold medals in the time trial event and she knows how to perform on the day. I trusted her with everything and honestly, today was my best, and we timed it perfectly. More than anything on my physical fitness, my mind was clicked into this race and I’ve been preparing for this race for years.
“I think that it takes everything, like emotionally, physically, to be ready on the day, and I was right where I needed to be today.”
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