The women’s road race will take place on Sunday at 8 a.m. ET, one day after the men. The distance of the women’s race is significantly shorter than the men’s race and is expected to be completed in around four hours. 

There are nine ascents with 1,700 meters of climbing, which is not as steep as some of the riders are accostomed to. Like the men, the women will start and finish in Paris. 

Unlike past years, radio communication will not be allowed, which adds a level of difficulty for the athletes. Support vehicles are allowed to follow the riders and assist with repairs.

The first Olympic women’s road race was held in 1984 in Los Angeles, and it has been held at every Olympics since. 

Anna Kiesenhofer and Marianne Vos look to be the first man or woman to win multiple gold medals in the Olympic road race.

The Netherlands has won four of the 10 races since the 1984 Games. The Dutch look to continue their strong performance in the race. Vos, Demi Vollering, Lorena Wiebes and Ellen van Dijk will look to keep the Netherlands’ streak of securing a medal alive after winning the event in Tokyo.

Beyond the Dutch, Lotte Kopecky of Belgium looks to be a medal contender. She is the reigning world champion and finished fourth in Tokyo. She is skipping the women’s Tour de France to focus all of her training on the Olympic race.

Elisa Longo Borghini of Italy looks to become the first person to win three medals in the road race event (bronze in 2016 and 2021).

The best result for an American woman was by Mara Abbott who finished fourth in 2016. Chloe Dygert looks to become the second American woman to win an Olympic medal in both road and track cycling. The three-time Olympian won bronze in the women’s time trial event earlier in the Games. 

Kristen Faulkner will be joining her. Faulkner is from Homer, Alaska, graduated from Harvard, and only began competitive cycling in 2017. She is entering the Games on a high, having won the 2024 USA Cycling Road Race and has won three Grand Tour stages over the past two years.