After a strong race resulting in a silver medal, team USA rider Haley Batten was hit with a fine for 500 Swiss Francs (CHF) after a last-lap infringement, which saw the Dutch team (with rider Puck Pieterse) protesting. According to the Dutch team, the American rider accelerated through the final feed zone, effectively launching an attack in a supposedly neutral area against eventual bronze medal winner Jenny Rissveds of Sweden.

Pieterse missed out on a medal after an ill-timed puncture saw her lose her second place during the race

Batten retains silver, and Pieterse misses out on a medal

The riders didn’t take a drink during the final feed zone, and with less than 3 minutes of racing left you can’t blame them, their focus being entirely on the final lap and fighting for their medal positions. Cyclingnews reported that officials viewed the ‘incident’ and decided to still award Batten the silver medal.

During the post-race press conference, both Rissveds and the USA team downplayed the incident with the former accepting her bronze medal.

The race rules state that neither rider nor team protests are allowed, and that the race judge’s descision is final. With this in mind, any complaint raised by Pieterse or the Dutch team would not be allowed to be considered anyway. After her medal hopes were dashed following an ill-timed puncture, Pieterse was understandably upset at the finish line. She finished 4th, overtaking Britain’s Evie Richards in the final laps.

The Dutch protest fell on deaf ears, with Batten receiving a fine but keeping the silver medal

National Coach for the Netherlands, Gerben de Knegt told Dutch media AD.nl, “The jury should have seen this, but now we can’t do anything.”

“I don’t think this is how Puck would have wanted to win a medal, but of course, rules must be followed. Batten obviously had a big advantage from this.”

Whether or not she did is up for debate – there’s no denying she put the hammer down during the feed zone, but she already had a few metres of distance between her and Rissveds after attacking earlier on in the lap. By the time the finish line came around, she was well in front and Rissveds didn’t have an answer for her.

Eventually, Batten was fined 500 Swiss Francs (CHF) for, “failure to respect the instructions of the race organisation or commissaires (using the pit lane without feeding or heaving technical assistance).” This is included in part 6 of article 4.20.001 of the UCI MTB rules.

The men’s race is underway at 13:10BST, if you need a reminder on where to watch it read our guide here.