After the women's mountain bike race, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot was in tears as she waited to receive her gold medal. She had won many victories in the past three Games, but Olympic success had always eluded her. Now, in her final mountain bike race at the Paris Olympics, she won gold amid cheers from thousands of French fans.

“I worked so hard for today. I felt fantastic today. I can't believe it!” She said after waving to the crowd and hugging her family.

“It can't be, it can't be, it's not me, it's a dream.”

But it was all true: the “PFP” ran flawlessly on the winding track in the hills of Elancourt, southwest of Paris. Because of the fast but slippery gravel surface, he chose a Pinarello hardtail bike, which is lighter than a full suspension, to control his ride.

Ferrand-Prevot received a huge cheer as she lined up at the front of the 36-rider grid and immediately took the lead of the race; on the second lap, she rode up the steepest incline in a single bound and was never seen again. With five laps to go, she was 30 seconds ahead of Pac Peters, and when the Dutchwoman suffered a flat tire on lap five of seven and had to change wheels, Ferrand-Prevot was more than a minute ahead. By the time she reached the winning finish, the gap had widened to 2:57 over American Haley Batten and 3:02 over third-place finisher Jenny Lisbeds of Sweden, who won gold in Rio 2016. Pieterse tried to fight back from a puncture, but finished fourth in 3:23.

Ferrand-Prevot had spent the last few months building up a protective bubble and working with a mental coach to manage pressure and expectations. She detached herself from the outside world, especially the French media, and focused on racing.

She arrived in Paris ready to race for the elusive gold medal. So did the spectators, who spent the entire day singing her name, pounding on the finish barrier, and cheering for her to win alone.

She admitted that she was so focused on the race and winning that she barely noticed the crowd.

“Tom Pidcock gave my coach a message and said, ‘Pauline needs to take this race like a normal race.’ ' So I said, 'Okay, I'll fight it like it's a World Cup race,'” she explained.

“On the first lap I decided to stay on the wheels to see how I felt and then push hard to make them suffer. I soon found out that I was pretty strong, so I didn't wait too long; after one lap I said, 'Let's try my pace this time'”

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“I didn't hear my coach, I didn't see any families along the way. I didn't care what was going on behind me. I was selfish and focused on myself.”

Ferrand-Prevot announced that she would end her mountain biking career this year to focus on road racing in 2025. An Olympic gold medal will not change her mind; at 32, she is ready for the next, and perhaps the last, chapter of her cycling career.

She has raced for Ineos Grenadiers in recent years, but the British team does not have a women's road team, which would prevent her from achieving her goal of competing in the Tour de France femme. Several sources have admitted to Cycling News that she will run with Visma Lease-a-Bike in 2025.

“I have decided to stop mountain biking at the end of this year and a gold medal will not change that.

“I wanted to prepare carefully for these Olympics, but I also needed to know what would happen afterwards. My future plans for the road race will be officially announced in the second week of August.

“I have a great project to prepare for the next few years with the Tour de France as my goal. I've won some Olympic gold medals, but I still have a few more goals in mind.”

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