August 15th, 2024Fern Hill’s Lauretta Hanson does us proud

Fern Hill’s Lauretta Hanson crossed the line in 22nd place in the women’s Road Race in Paris on Sunday, August 5, in the 2024 Olympics.

Teammate Grace Brown, who already had a gold from a previous event, crossed the line in 23rd place both five minutes behind the winner, while Australian Ruby Roseman-Gannon was caught up in a mid-race crash and finished 39th.

The 157.2km epic race around the streets of Paris was won by American Kristen Faulkner in three hours, 59 minutes and 23 seconds.

The course started and finished in the shadows of the Eiffel Tower and included a 110km loop which crossed Paris’s left bank and the Hauts-de-Seine, Yvelines and Essonne departments before returning to the city for an 18.5km loop which included the ascent up Montmartre.

Lauretta described the race as an incredible experience.

“Every time up Montmartre you could hardly hear yourself,” she said.

“The crowds were phenomenal, we went out there and gave it our best, unfortunately we had a little bit of bad luck losing Ruby in the crash, but we tried and that’s all you can ask for.”

Words: Donna Kelly | Image: AusCycling – Josh Chadwick