In one word, the elite women’s semifinals were insane. There were so many upsets, great performances, and unexpected outcomes leading into the finals. Congratulations to all the women but especially Bethany Shriever (GBR) who had a legendary Olympic journey from winning the Women’s World Junior title in 2017 to crowdfunding her way to Tokyo after being cut from UK sport, and even having her bike stolen just a few months ago. Mariana Pajon (COL) gave Bethany a close run near the finish line, and comes home with a silver medal to add to her two gold Olympic medals from 2012 and 2016. Merel Smulders (NED) brings home bronze, matching what her sister Laura Smulders (NED) got from when she received bronze in 2012. Here are your Women’s Elite Final results, photo by Naoki Gaman / UCI.
SILVER Mariana PAJON – Colombia
BRONZE Merel SMULDERS – Netherlands
4. Felicia STANCIL – United States
5. Lauren REYNOLDS – Australia
6. Simone CHRISTENSEN – Denmark
7. Axelle ETIENNE – France
8. Drew MECHIELSEN – Canada
