Olympic Cycling 2016: Men, Women's Road Time-Trial Medal Winners and Results

Switzerland star Fabian Cancellara ended his cycling career on the highest of notes on Wednesday after storming to victory in the men's road time-trial at the Rio 2016 Olympics before heading into retirement.

Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands and Great Britain's Chris Froome clinched silver and bronze, respectively, as Sky Sports Cycling announced the final results:

American Kristin Armstrong also won gold in the women's road time trial for the third Games running at the on Wednesday, followed by Olga Zabelinskaya of Russia and the Netherlands' Anna van der Breggen. 

Here is confirmation of the results:

	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Women's	Kristin Armstrong (USA) 44:26.42	Olga Zabelinskaya (RUS) 44:31.97	Anna van der Breggen (NED) 44:37.80
Men's	Fabian Cancellara (SUI) 1:12:15.42	Tom Dumoulin (NED) 1:13:02.83	Chris Froome (GBR) 1:13:17.54

Men's Time-Trial Recap

Cancellara couldn't have hoped for a brighter departure from cycling on Wednesday after powering his way around the 54.5-kilometre course in one hour, 12 minutes and 15.42 seconds.

It's been eight years since the man known as "Spartacus" claimed the first of his Olympic gold medals in Beijing, and BBC 5live Sport showed the elated expression on his face after sealing his second:

His victory completed an extremely strong showing from the European nations across both road cycling events—men's and women's—with American Armstrong the only non-European to claim a medal from the 12 on offer.

At 35 years of age, Cancellara wasn't expected to run quite so highly among the favourites in Rio, but Froome predicted the Swiss was going to be a contender, according to the Telegraph's Tom Cary:

Cancellara was fifth-but-last in the race order, while Dumoulin was the penultimate starter and Froome last out the door, but neither of their finales could beat the pace set by the Swiss star before them.

The Press Association's Matt Slater also highlighted just how disappointed Great Britain will be with their performances in the road cycling, with the track platform their next chance to shine:

Froome's compatriot Geraint Thomas zipped around the course in one hour, 14 minutes and 52.85 seconds, but that finish was only good enough for ninth, more than two-and-a-half minutes off the gold-medal winner.

Cancellara made up a mountain of time before the first time split, and there ultimately was no other rider who could match his rejuvenated intensity in the time-trial.

Women's Time-Trial Recap

The women's time trial began in wet and windy conditions, per UCI Women Cycling:

USA Cycling remarked on the weather:

"

Very challenging conditions right now. Extremely windy, wet and cooler. Adds another dimension to a grueling event. https://t.co/QoCLAl3EmM

— USA Cycling (@usacycling) August 10, 2016"

The course—which used the Grumari circuit included in the road race—began and ended in Pontal and contained two major ascents in the Grumari climb and the Grota Funda climb.

Among the early riders, Canada's Tara Whitten got off to a strong start, passing through the first time check at 10km with a time of 17 minutes, 19.17 seconds.

Former Olympic cyclist Clara Hughes was impressed with her compatriot:

Great Britain hopeful Emma Pooley, who returned to the sport after two years competing in duathlons, got off to a shaky start because of the wind. While she was able to recover, she never looked like contesting a medal position.

Meanwhile, a lapse in judgement from Ellen van Dijk saw her come off the road and her bike become stuck in the undergrowth—she would ultimately miss out on a bronze medal by 11 seconds.

Defending champion Armstrong was the fastest through the first time check at 17:07.93. Cycling writer Michael Hutchinson believed it boded well:

Zabelinskaya was the quickest at the second time check, just under three seconds quicker than the American, after an excellent middle section.

After a slightly slow start—the Russian was only sixth fastest over the first 10km—Zabelinskaya produced an exceptional end to her race and finished quicker than road race champion Van der Breggen.

It was left to Armstrong to beat her, and on the day before her 43rd birthday, she came out on top. Hutchinson celebrated her victory, while UCI Women Cycling captured her finish:

With three consecutive gold medals in this event, Armstrong has firmly cemented her position in U.S. Olympic history.