Women's Paris 2024 cycling road race – LIVE: Kopecky, Wiebes, Vollering, Henderson go for gold

Gap now down to 3:39 as the orange jerseys power the peloton.

Van Dijk is joined at the front of the peloton by Vos, Vollering, and Wiebes. Gap now down to 4:05. Henderon goes back to the Team GB car to get a bidon.

Zabelinskaya caught as Van Dijk leads the peloton to make contact. They’ve got a gap of around 4:14 to the front group of six. Yulduz Hashimi receives assistance from the neutral service car to help tighten her handlebars.

Van Dijk is still putting in the work at the front of the peloton. She’s reduced the gap to the front group to 4:23, and the bunch are only ten seconds behind Zabelinskaya now.

She’s ridden her way back to the front group and thanks them for their support. The peloton are around five minutes back, Zabelinskaya, the oldest rider in the race, is still the solo chaser and she’s four minutes behind the front of the race.

A lovely moment in the front group as Jenčušová, who led for a while earlier on in the race, is supported by the breakaway as they try to help her keep going despite a problem with her chain. She’s unable to stay with them despite their efforts, and she drops back to get the issue sported.

The Lidl-Trek rider ups the pace in the bunch, who are currently 5:35 behind the lead group. Zabelinskaya four minutes back from the front.

The lead continues to increase for the front group of six, Zabelinskaya currently around 3:40 behind them. Georgi is riding back towards the peloton after her bike change.

Georgi swaps bikes. The back-to-back British champion is definitely one to watch today, particularly when it comes to the final circuit. She finished third at Paris-Roubaix this year, with Kopecky taking the title in the sprint.

Less than 100km to go now! The front group currently have a lead of around 5:30 ahead of the bunch, Zabelinskaya is 3:20 back from the front six.

It looked to be a problem with the battery on the gears on her spare bike, but the mechanic manages to swap the batteries over and she goes back in search of the bunch. A stressful few minutes for the New Zealand team!

Awful luck for New Zealand’s Niamh Fisher-Black who has a mechanical, swaps bikes, but something seems to be wrong with her new bike and she drops further back as she searches for some assistance from her team car.

Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio ups the pace but she’s closed down quickly by her AG Insurance – Soudal teammate Mireia Benito, who’s riding for Spain today.

Olga Zabelinskaya goes clear from the bunch! She won bronze at London 2012.

Now a front group of six, but the peloton are accelerating in a bid to close them down. Kiesenhofer is off the back of the bunch and looks like she’s struggling to keep up.

The chase group of five are only six seconds behind the lone leader, who is over four minutes ahead of the bunch.

Jenčušová has a four minute lead on the peloton, but the chase group are only 11 seconds behind.

Yulduz rejoins her sister Fariba as the group of four catch her and swell to five. Just over an hour of racing completed and Jenčušová remains ahead of the bunch by around three minutes.

Rotem Gafinovitz is joined by the three riders who followed her attack. Yulduz Hashimi and Jenčušová are still both up the road solo.

Fariba Hashimi, Thị Thật Nguyễn, and Hanna Tserakh form a group of three as they counter attack from the bunch. Jenčušová still leads the race, around 1:37 ahead of the peloton.

Rotem Gafinovitz stages an attack and goes clear, but counter attacks follow from the peloton.

Afghanistan’s Yulduz Hashimi splits from the peloton as she goes in search of the lone attacker! Great to see the Afghan riders making their mark today, what a journey the two sisters have had to reach this point.

The Belgian rider drops back to the team car to take on some hydration, but it looks like it’s not the one she wanted. Jenčušová currently 46 seconds clear.

The Dutch have brought a stacked team to today’s road race with Lorena Wiebes as leader and Ellen van Dijk, Demi Vollering, and Marianne Vos in support. All individually, on their day, could take the title, so it will be interesting to see how their race pans out today. With Vollering and Wiebes currently both racing alongside Kopecky at SD Worx-Protime, they’ll know the current World Champion better than many. Could that play into their hands today? Vos won gold in 2012, so she also knows what it takes to win on the biggest stage.

Lots of early action going on so far, and Jenčušová has currently worked up a solo lead of around 36 seconds. The peloton are yet to react.

Nora Jenčušová stages another attack and is succuessful in going clear from the peloton.

Antri Christoforou ups the pace this time but is brought back.

New Zealand’s Kim Cadzow attacks at the front of the race and begins to string out the peloton. Van Dijk looks to have it under control and Cadzow doesn’t manage to split from the group.

A few riders struggling on the climb as the pressure from the front of the group increases, Nesrine Houil (Algeria), Safia al Sayegh (United Arab Emirates), and Diane Ingabire (Rwanda) all drop back.

The peloton bring Bamogo back as the Côte des Gardes climb begins.

Van Dijk will be a key figure in the peloton today as she hopes to control proceedings for her team, with Wiebes named as their leader today. Bamogo with a lead of around 50 seconds.

Just three riders in the Team GB colours today with Lizzie Deignan, Anna Henderson, and Pfeiffer Georgi in the road race. It’s both Henderson and Georgi’s first Olympic road race, but Henderson already has a silver medal from this Olympics after a fantastic time trial effort. By contrast, it’s Deignan’s fourth Olympic road race, and she has a sliver medal from London 2012 in this event.

Bamogo with a 40-second gap now, defending champion Kiesenhofer currently sits towards the back of the bunch while two riders in the Swiss team take over at the the front.

The peloton have let the solo attacker go clear, and she currently has a 23-second lead in the early stages of the race.

Awa Bamogo of Burkina Faso is the first to stage an attack and break free from the bunch! Ellen van Dijk moves to the front of the peloton after the move.

Here we go then, the Paris 2024 women’s road race has officially begun!

The women’s road race at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games covers 158km. This includes two laps of a 18.4km loop before the finish, with a total of 1,700 metres of climbing throughout the race.

There’s a total of nine climbs on the route, four of which occur within 30km of each other (Côte de Cernay-la-Ville, Côte de Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, Côte de Châteaufort, and Côte du Pavé des Gardes).

Starting at Jardins du Trocadéro, the riders will make their way out of the city before they meet the summit of the first climb Côte des Gardes (1.9km, 6% average) after 14km. At 19km they’ll pass the Palace of Versailles, before the next climb, Côte de Port-Royal (1km, 5% average).

The 5.2km neutralised start is underway, and what a stunning backdrop the Eiffel Tour is providing.

Who could forget Anna Kiesenhofer’s stunning solo victory in Tokyo?! She’ll be wearing number one today, but has backed Austrian teammate Christina Schweinberger as their biggest hope for today’s race. Kiesenhofer was one of many riders who crashed during the time trial, her preferred discipline, earlier in the Games but she has recovered well enough to start today which is great to see.

Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel made history yesterday as he became the first male rider, and the first rider in 24 years to win both the Olympic time trial and road race since Leontien Zijlaard first accomplished the feat in 2000. Will Lotte Kopecky do the road race double for Belgium today? She looks to be a strong favourite, but will have strong competition, particularly from trade teammates Demi Vollering and Lorena Wiebes who will both be racing for The Netherlands in Paris today.

The long-awaited women’s road race is finally here! Only one out of 92 riders can take the coveted Olympic gold, but who will it be? In a few hours we’ll find out at the iconic finish line by the Eiffel Tower after the longest women’s Olympic road race to date at 158km.