Cover photo: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
The Blue Ridge Mountains have the rugged landscape to shape adventurers into elite athletes. Just ask Jennifer Valente—a San Diego resident, who trains in and around Roanoke, Va., with the local professional cyclist group, Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY24—who earned two gold medals last week for the U.S. women’s cycling team and helped set a national record in the process.
Last Wednesday, the 29-year-old Valente rode with teammates Chloe Dygert, Lily Williams, and Kristen Faulkner to cover 4 kilometers in the Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome, finishing with a time of 4:04.036 to beat out the silver medalist team, New Zealand (4:04.927). The U.S. team advanced in the semifinals earlier in the week with a time of 4:04.629, which originally broke the national record, until the team’s win in the finals.
Then on Sunday, Valente capped off her time in Paris by taking gold in the Women’s Omnium.
“The success at the Paris Olympics is also a reflection of the strong collaborative efforts with USA Cycling and the USA Cycling Foundation,” Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY24 wrote in an Instagram post celebrating Valente’s win. “…Together, we’ve worked hand in hand to ensure that every athlete had the tools, guidance, and opportunities needed to excel on the world stage. This partnership has been invaluable in helping us achieve our goals and reach new heights in U.S. cycling history…We are so proud of you Jennifer!”
With her two medals in Paris, Valente is now the most decorated cyclist in U.S. Olympic women’s history, with five total medals. She previously won gold in the Women’s Omnium in 2021 in Tokyo, where she also won a bronze in team pursuit. She also won a silver medal in team pursuit in Rio de Janeiro 2016.
Valente’s medal ride came a day after Cole Hocker, a runner living in nearby Blacksburg, won the men’s 1,500-meter run and took home the gold.
