Cycling: Jennifer Valente triumphs in women's omnium. GETTY IMAGES

American defending champion Jennifer Valente triumphed in the women's omnium to retain her title in the final velodrome race of the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

Valente finished 13 points ahead of Poland's Daria Pikulik, with New Zealand's Ally Wollaston claiming bronze, six points further back.

The omnium, one of track cycling's most unpredictable events, consists of four separate races: the scratch, tempo, elimination, and points races. Riders accumulate points in each.

Valente executed the 30-lap scratch race perfectly, pulling ahead on the final stretch to secure the maximum 40 points, with Canada's Maggie Coles-Lyster finishing second.

American defending champion Jennifer Valente triumphed in the omnium. GETTY IMAGES
American defending champion Jennifer Valente triumphed in the omnium. GETTY IMAGES

Irish rider Lara Gillespie won the tempo race, but Valente maintained her overall lead, eight points ahead of Australia's Georgia Baker and 18 clear of Coles-Lyster.

In the elimination race, Valente powered through to victory, with Baker and Coles-Lyster finishing second and third, respectively. She entered the final 80-lap race with a 10-point lead and made no errors.

Valente, who disrupted world champion Yumi Kajihara of Japan to win the first American women's track cycling gold at Tokyo three years ago, has since established herself as the top competitor in the omnium, winning consecutive world titles in 2022 and 2023.