A Dutch cyclist was forcibly stopped by security because they didn't know she was an Olympian, then won bronze
- Dutch cyclist Anna van der Breggen was stopped by security at the Olympics when they didn't recognize her.
- Van der Breggen fell off her bike during a confrontation, but was not injured.
- She went on to win bronze in the time trials, while compatriot Annemiek van Vleuten won gold.
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Dutch cyclist Anna van der Breggen overcame a mishap with Olympic security to win a bronze medal in the women's individual time trial.
According to a report from the Associated Press, security officials confronted van der Breggen during a training session on the course because they didn't know she was an Olympian.
During the confrontation, van der Breggen reportedly fell from her bike, but was not injured.
A Japanese cycling coach had posted a video to Twitter showing security surrounding the Dutch team.
-????Kyosuke Takei???? (@takeikyosuke) July 27, 2021
Rio gold medalist van der Breggen told Dutch cycling news outlet Wielerflits that there had previously been trespassers on the course and security got mixed up.
"Because there were a few girls on the track who cycled around unsupervised, the security was very strict," van der Breggen said. "We were checked for the first time. When we passed that point again, we wanted to continue, but the security again jumped in front of our bike. Not much more has happened."
She said she was fine and wanted to move on from the incident.
Officials at Fuji International Speedway, where the incident took place, issued an apology to the Dutch team, according to the AP.
After winning bronze in the trial, van ber Breggen told reporters she was still happy with the time, though she felt she did not have her best race.
"It's a shame in any case, because I felt good beforehand," she said, via De Telegraaf. "Now I'm especially glad it's over. I'm looking forward to a holiday."
It's been a calamitous Olympics so far for Dutch cyclists.
Annemiek van Vleuten, a favorite in Rio before suffering a horrific crash, took silver in the 137km race in Tokyo. However, she thought she had won gold, not realizing an Austrian cyclist had broken well ahead of the pack. Van Vleuten made amends Wednesday, beating van der Breggen to take gold in the time trial.
In another incident, Dutch mountain biker Mathieu van der Poel - a gold medal favorite - suffered a scary crash when he didn't realize a ramp that had been on the course during practice was removed. He was able to keep competing, but fell out of contention.
And on Monday, BMX world champion Niek Kimmann crashed into a security official who wandered on the course and injured his knee.