A flurry of cyclists have fallen off their bikes on the first morning of the Paris Olympics as participants struggled to cope with the wet conditions.<br /><br />US athlete Taylor Knibb skidded off four times during the women's road cycling time trials as the rain cascaded down in the French capital.<br /><br />And she was soon followed by her mechanic who went flying onto the road as he rushed to give the rider a new bike.<br /><br />Pre-race favorite Chloe Dygert also took a tumble on the circuit as she tried to catch up with Australian Grace Brown, who picked up gold. <br /><br />And she eventually fell short of Team GB's Anna Henderson by just one second, meaning that the British rider secured a spectacular silver medal.<br /><br />The race was littered with crashes as cyclists contended with the treacherous Paris conditions, knowing that one crash would likely spell the end of a shot at a medal.<br /><br />Early on, Denmark's Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig slipped on her left side before gingerly getting back on her bike.<br /><br />Then disaster struck for American hopeful Knibb as the contender, who had been fastest at the 13.1km intermediate split point, fell off twice in a matter of minutes, including once in the same spot as her Danish counterpart.<br /><br />Knibb's hopes were then completely derailed when she suffered a puncture as the rain lashed down before her mechanic slipped over himself as he arrived to replace the bike.<br /><br />Even once the rain calmed down, Paris's roads remained completely waterlogged with the grey clouds and grim weather providing a dramatic backdrop for the event.<br /><br />Reigning road race world champion Lotte Kopecky was the next hopeful to fall victim to the skiddy surfaces and tumbled hard onto the hard surface.<br /><br />As the first riders began crossing the finish line, it was clear how the weather had taken its toll with exhausted cyclists completing the race with bloodied knees and bruised bodies.<br /><br />Australia's Grace Brown nabbed a glorious gold on a chaotic afternoon to round off a career that will come to an end after the season.<br /><br />Her margin of victory was a whopping 91 seconds - made all the more impressive by the strength of the field and testing conditions.<br /><br />Behind her was Britain's Henderson who completed a gritty comeback from two collarbone injuries in the last six months.<br /><br />The 25-year-old was cheered on by Olympics legend Dame Kelly Holmes who kept dry underneath a black umbrella.
