Pascal Richard
Switzerland
Road Cycling
Overall Ranks
#2 among Road Cyclists
#1 among Swiss Olympians
Olympic Results
1996
Road Race - Gold
Total
Events - 1
Gold - 1
Pascal Richard was born on March 16, 1964 in Vevey, Switzerland, and began his career in cyclo-cross, winning the gold medal in the 1988 World Championship, but switched to road racing when it became clear that he was very talented at climbing.
He made his lone Olympic appearance in the road race in 1996 in Atlanta. Just weeks earlier, he had competed in the Tour de France, where he had won the 12th stage, which was the most mountainous of the race. The 1996 Olympics were the first where professional cyclists were allowed to compete, including Richard.
The race was extended due to professional athletes being added, measuring at 221.85 km. There was a massive group of 111 riders that stayed together for most of the race, but with 33 km remaining, Richard broke away from the main group, and was joined by two other riders. That trio pulled farther and farther from the main group for the rest of the race, then sprinted it out at the finish, where Richard was able to pull ahead and finish a split second ahead of Rolf Sorensen of Denmark to take the gold medal.
After the medalists crossed the line, it was over a minute before any other riders finished. It was the largest time difference for a breakaway finish in Olympic history, and though he continued riding professionally through 2000, he never tried to compete in the Olympics again. Winning the breakaway by such a large margin is what makes Richard one of the greatest Olympians of all time.
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