No strong favorite existed as the women’s international events had been spread among several different riders since 1996, although Spain’s Margarita Fullana had been World Champion in 1999 and earlier in 2000. The race was conducted over five laps of 7.1 km. each. The early leader was Switzerland’s Barbara Blatter but Fullana took the lead on the third lap. On the fourth lap, defending champion Paola Pezzo (ITA) passed Blatter and challenged Fullana for the lead. On a tight downhill section Pezzo and Fullana collided, and Fullana crashed. Pezzo managed to stay upright and powered away to her second gold medal. Fullana accused Pezzo of intentionally colliding, as this had happened before at the 1999 Europeans. Pezzo had declared this to be her last mountainbike race, but also competed in Athens. Her preparation for the Olympics had been remarkable, training alone on a track similar to the Olympic course, purposely built near her home.
