American Haley Batten was confirmed as the silver medalist in the women's mountain bike race at the Paris Olympics, despite protests from Puck Pieterse and the Dutch national team that she accelerated through the feed zone to gain on her rivals on the final lap.

Batten finished 2:57 behind gold medalist Pauline Ferrand-Prevot of France, but beat Sweden's Jenny Lisvedos by six seconds after a thrilling battle.

The 25-year-old American rider managed to gain a few seconds on Lisvedis during the laps of Elancourt Hill, and perhaps even more as she raced through the feed zone without taking a last drink.

Race officials apparently examined video footage of the incident, but the medal ceremony continued and Batten was awarded the silver medal.

Batten and American officials denied the incident at a press conference and said they were not concerned about the eventual fine. Lisbeth also denied the incident and received a bronze medal.

In the end, Batten was fined 500 Swiss francs (CHF) for “failure to respect the instructions of the race organizer or commissaire (using the pit lane without feeding or technical assistance)” under Article 6 of UCI MTB Regulation 4.20.001.

Pieterse was in second place when he got the flat tire and was confident that he would have won the silver medal had there been no problems.

“When I changed the wheel, I lost 25 seconds. Then you lose your rhythm and make mistakes yourself. It took me at least half a lap to get back in shape. By the last lap, I started to believe that a medal was possible. Unfortunately, it was no longer possible,” Pieters told wielerflits.nl.

She added: “I was very happy with the result. In terms of value, I think everyone saw that I could have taken silver. That was the color I should have had."

She added: ”I was very happy with the color.

Immediately after the finish, Pieters was understandably distraught, but returned to the finish area, spoke with Lisvedis, and protested.

She hoped that race officials would punish Batten and that she would win the bronze medal. Although UCI rules are used for Olympic competition, there do not appear to be any special rules regarding feed zones.

According to Dutch media, race officials watched the incident on a video replay system and pushed back the pressure on Pieters. The race rules clearly state that protests by riders or teams are not allowed and that the judges' decision is considered final.

“The judges should have seen this, but we can't bring this up now,” national director Gerben de Knegt told AD.nl.

“The race officials deliberated for some time and decided to fine Batten.

“I don't think that's the way Puck wanted to win the medal, but of course the rules must be followed. Batten clearly gained a huge advantage.”

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