Taylor Spivey forced to wait for Olympics place after near miss in Paris

An Olympics appearance means so much to any athlete – but a place at Paris 2024 would be extra special to Taylor Spivey.

The American controversially missed out on selection for Tokyo and was in with a real shout of booking her spot when right in the mix at the Test Event.

She was in the lead group on the bike but the action in behind – ironically with compatriot Taylor Knibb driving the chasers – saw it all come back together.

That made it a shootout on the 10km run, where a top-eight place would be enough for one American to qualify.

And that would prove to be Knibb in fifth as Spivey crossed the line in 10th, just over a minute behind winner Beth Potter.

Breakaway reeled in

So mixed emotions afterwards for the woman who has finished in third place at both WTCS Abu Dhabi and WTCS Cagliari and went into the Test Event in second place on the Olympic Rankings.

Speaking to TRI247 afterwards she talked us through the race: “The dynamics started off well but when the packs came together on the bike it meant it came down to a run race and I didn’t feel I quite had my run legs today so I just missed out on qualifying.

“The bike course was pretty technical, but like fast technical and I think that definitely plays in my favour if you have a breakaway.

“But I think that some of the athletes in that breakaway pack struggled on the turns and we just weren’t as strong as we normally are.”

Added firepower

The likes of Flora Duffy and Georgia Taylor-Brown, first and second in Tokyo, were both missing here through injury and were exactly the sort of riders who could have upped the pace in that front group.

And Spivey added: “I think you just want others to motivate that front group to push a bit harder on those first couple of laps so that we don’t get caught.

“I’m hoping that I can qualify later on – a podium at Pontevedra is the next chance – and that we have some key players here next time.”

As well as the WTCS Grand Final in Pontevedra, Spivey will also take in all four Super League races including Malibu where she won last year.