1. Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (France) 2:36:13 (Gold)
2. Imelda Chiappa (Italy) 2:26.38 (Silver)
3. Clara Hughes (Canada) 2:36.44 (Bronze)
4. Vera Hohfeld (Germany) 2:37.06
5. Jolanta Polikeviciute (Lithuania)
6. Zulfiya Zabirova (Russia)
7. Alessandra Cappellotto (Italy)
8. Barbara Heeb (Switzerland)
9. Kathryn Watt (Australia)
10. Susan Palmer (Canada)
11. Marie Purvis (Britain)
12. Rasa Polikeviciute (Lithuania)
13. Yvonne Schnorf (Switzerland)
14. Zinaida Stagurskaya (Belarus)
15. Diana Rast (Switzerland)
16. Catherine Marsal (France)
17. Anna Wilson (Australia)
18. Ragnhild Kostoll (Norway)
19. Sarah Phillips (Britain)
20. Heidi Van de Vijver (Belgium)
21. Joane Somarriba (Spain)
22. Tanja Klein (Austria)
23. Ana Barros (Portugal)
24. Lenka Ilavska (Slovakia)
25. Susanne Ljungskog (Sweden)
26. Yvonne Anna Brunen (Netherlands)
27. Eva Orvosova-Lowe (Slovakia)
28. Elsbeth Vink (Netherlands)
29. Jeanne Golay (USA)
30. Natalya Kishchuk (Ukraine)
31. Susannah Pryde (New Zealand)
32. Roberta Bonanomi (Italy)
33. Rebecca Bailey (New Zealand)
34. T.R.Vikstedt-Nyman (Finland) all s.t.
35. Erica Green (South Africa) 2:37.21
36. Linda Brenneman (USA) 2:40.27
37. Allison Dunlap (USA) 2:41.21
38. Marion Clignet (France) 2:41.50
39. Tracey Watson (Australia) 2:42.35
40. Fatima Blazquez (Spain) 2:46.27
41. Guo Xinghong (China) 2:49.47
42. Jacqueline Martin (South Africa) 2:53.12
43. Caroline Alexander (Britain) 2:53.47
Did not finish
Linda Jackson (Canada)
Zhao Haijuan (China)
Dania Perez (Cuba)
Camille Solis (Belize)
Svetlana Samokhvalova (Russia)
Ingunn Bollerud (Norway)
Alla Vasilenko (Kazhistan)
Diana Ziliute (Lithuania)
Jacqueline Nelson (New Zealand)
Maureen Kaila (El Salvador)
Maritza Corredor Alvarez (Colombia)
Ingrid Haringa (Netherlands)
Kim Yong-mi (South Korea)
Svetlana Bubnenkova (Russia)
Izaskun Bengoa (Spain)
Longo, 10 times world champion but denied an Olympic title by fate at three previous Games, dug deep into her experience and stamina to break clear of her two challengers on the last of eight laps of the 13 km circuit.
Imelda Chiappa of Italy, who took silver, and Canadian Clara Hughes, who earned the bronze, had broken away with Longo at the end of the fifth lap.
But with Chiappa refusing to take her turn to make the pace and Hughes also reluctant to expend too much energy at the front, all the hard work was left for Longo to prevent the rest of the pack catching up.
The 37-year-old Longo tried unsuccessfully several times to drop her two rivals, something she knew she had to do because they would obviously be fresher than her in a sprint finish.
Finally, on a hill midway through the last lap of the circuit in the smart Atlanta suburb of Buckhead, she went again in what was probably her last chance. This time it worked.
Longo finished the 104-km course in two hours 36 minutes 13 seconds, 25 seconds ahead of Chiappa with Hughes coming in a further six seconds behind.
The wet, hilly course saw several spectacular falls as riders struggled to cope with the slippery conditions.
Longo was denied a chance of gold at her first Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984 when her chain came off on the final lap. She was injured a month before the Seoul Games in 1988 and had not fully recovered in time, placing only 21st.
Four years ago in Barcelona, Longo thought she had beaten her jinx when she broke away from the pack just before the end of the race but neither she nor the rest had spotted an earlier breakaway by Australian Kathy Watt, who had already crossed the line, leaving the Frenchwoman with silver.
French veteran Longo, 37, making her fourth attempt at successive Games to win an Olympic gold, ended up thanking the rain for helping her triumph in the opening cycling event in Atlanta, the women's road race.
``I hate the rain,'' she said. ``When it started, I must confess it had me worried. But in the end, it helped me. It gave me the opportunity to attack and make the race much tougher for the rest.
``I thought it would be better to be ahead in a small group anyway to avoid the danger of falling in a bunch.''
Longo was proved right as 15 of the 58 starters failed to finish, many of them crashing spectacularly on the hilly Buckhead course which became as slippery as a skating rink.
Among the fallers were Russians Svetlana Bubnenkova and Svetlana Samokhvalova, who could have been challenging Longo for the medals.
Longo has won 10 world titles in an unrivalled career in women's cycling, including two last year, but she claimed the lack of an Olympic gold to go with them was not an obsession before the race.
``I didn't go into the race thinking that I have to win to get the missing one for my collection,'' she said. ``But I really did want to win, of course, and I went through the race 10,000 times in my head yesterday.''
Longo's ride was masterly yet everything hung in the balance until the last of eight laps around the 13-km circuit.
The French rider's fans thought she might have blown her chance by breaking away too early, some 40 kms from the finish.
Longo could not drop the two riders who went with her -- Italian Imelda Chiappa and Canada's Clara Hughes -- despite several attempts to do so.
Neither was prepared to help make the pace and, with the main pack never more than about 30 seconds behind, Longo was forced to do all the hard work to keep the leading group ahead, pushing herself dangerously close to exhaustion.
``I knew I had to get away before the end because the Italian is an experienced rider who knows how to handle a race and I didn't want it to be down to a sprint at the end,'' she said.
Longo dug deep into her reserves one last time on a steep hill during the last lap and neither Chiappa, who had to settle for silver, nor bronze medallist Hughes could stay with her.
Hughes had finished second to Longo in the world championship time trial in Colombia last year.
On the finish line Longo received telephone congratulations from French president Jacques Chirac. ``It was a great honour,'' she said.
With one gold medal now safely in her possession, Longo will now be looking for a second in the time trial next week.
Perhaps it will rain for her.
Anna WILSON (AUS) -- Flash Quote -- after the race "In the first lap everyone was pretty jumpy, but nothing really happened. In the second lap the Italian got away, and we worked really hard to get her back. Longo did a lot of the work. ... Coming up past the golf course, Longo went and I went with them. I thought I was going pretty well, but Longo just kept accelerating!" Linda JACKSON (CAN), after the race, her arm in a sling after a crash in the first lap: "I m really disappointed, but I m happy for my teammate, and that s a saving grace ... I m sure if this had happened before, I would have been cursing ... Clara (HUGHES) is very strong, very aggressive, and has been doing very well this year ... I wasn t surprised to see an Italian up there ... There are a lot of crashes in bike racing, so it s not a rarity ... I think nerves played a big part in it today ..." JACKSON said she is not sure how the crash happened, but apparently a rider in front slid out and caused a chain reaction, taking several riders down. "It was all a blur." She said her father comforted her, saying she could work on her arm to be ready in time for the time trials Aug. 3. Regarding gold medalist Jeannie LONGO (FRA), JACKSON said: "I m really happy for her. I wish it was a Canadian, but boy she deserves it. In Colombia last year (World Championships) she won the gold, and I m really glad to see her add a gold to her collection."