Kiesenhofer stretched her arms in the air in a winning gesture as she crossed the finish line.

A few minutes later, one of the pre-favorites did the same - the Dutchwoman Annemiek van Vleuten.

- I thought I had won, she says according to AP.

Her coach told me that she actually took silver, and she broke down in tears.

- I was a little scared that she thought she had won, says commentator Robin Fomin in Discovery +.

New disappointment

Britain's Lizzie Deignan, who was in the close group at the end, was also sure that van Vleuten won.

- The best person won here today.

Annemiek was obviously the strongest so all credit to her, says Deignan to the BBC.

For van Vleuten, it was another disappointment.

The 38-year-old led five years ago in Rio, before she crashed seriously.

A crash that gave her a concussion and three lumbar fractures.

Dutch teammate Anna van der Breggen was involved and fought for the medals.

Nor was she aware of Kiesenhofer's jerks.

- I did not know that there were still cyclists in front of us.

I thought we cycled for gold, says van der Breggen.