Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

How Pittsford cyclist Magnus Sheffield raced in the 2024 Paris Olympics Time Trial

FILE - Bronze medal winner Magnus Sheffield of Pittsford, right, poses during the podium ceremony as fellow U.S. cyclist, Quinn Simmons, who won gold, looks on at the road cycling World Championships in Harrogate, England, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. Sheffield and Matteo Jorgenson will join Brandon McNulty on the U.S. cycling team for the Paris Olympics. Together, the trio could be the best chance for an American to win a road race medal since Alexi Grewal took gold 40 years ago. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)
Manu Fernandez
/
AP
FILE - Bronze medal winner Magnus Sheffield of Pittsford, right, poses during the podium ceremony as fellow U.S. cyclist, Quinn Simmons, who won gold, looks on at the road cycling World Championships in Harrogate, England, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. Sheffield and Matteo Jorgenson will join Brandon McNulty on the U.S. cycling team for the Paris Olympics. Together, the trio could be the best chance for an American to win a road race medal since Alexi Grewal took gold 40 years ago. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)

Pittsford’s Magnus Sheffield was hoping to win a medal during the men's Olympic Time Trial on Saturday.

Rain poured during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Olympics. And it didn’t let up the next day, when 34 men lined up to race a Time Trial starting on the Quai D'Orsay.

One of those men was Sheffield, a professional racer with British team Ineos Grenadiers. The 22-year-old Time Trial specialist was one of two men representing the USA, along with Brandon McNulty.

The Pittsford native started out strong, with the best time of the morning after 13.1 kilometers of racing. But just a few minutes later, his wheel slipped out from under him on the wet roads, and he crashed like many others had already done.

Sheffield would race on with torn bike shorts, completing the course in 16th place, nearly two minutes behind gold medal winner Remco Evenepoel of Belgium.

Earlier that day, another American did place. Chloe Dygery took bronze in the women's time trial after her own crash.

In May, Sheffield told WXXI News he was targeting the time trial. But he has one more chance to perform during the road race on August 3rd.

David Streever is a journalist who authored books and reported for magazines before joining public media in 2019. He was editor-in-chief of an arts and culture magazine and has covered everything from bike racing to housing and poverty. Outside of work, he's a proud dad who bikes and cooks with his family.