another veteran's medal, Lynch entered the Pro race at the 1995 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Kirchzarten in Germany's Black Forest. Lynch had a fierce start of the cross country race and led the field into the first climb. One by one, younger and full-time professional cyclists went past her, and Lynch ended up 21st, with Mary Grigson 33rd, and the other Kiwis further back. They had gained New Zealand two qualifying positions for the Olympics; no New Zealand men qualified. Grigson accepted an offer to race for Australia and left New Zealand (she competed at the Olympics in 1996 and 2000), so the New Zealand Mountain Bike Association decided to nominate just one competitor for the New Zealand Olympic team. The team was announced on 16 April 1996 and Lynch's name came up. This was by no means a foregone conclusion, and Lynch thinks that she was selected against the selection panel's inclinations: I was out of favour with the selectors because I told one to go and get effed. I wouldn't play their dicky, dorky games. Lynch's preparations for the Olympics consisted of winning the usual domestic events (Coast to Coast, Karapoti, and the cross country championships). With summer gone, she then moved to road cycling with its reduced recovery time between races. As the three Olympic road cycling qualifiers were overseas already, Lynch had no problem winning the New Zealand road race title and also became national time trial champion. Lynch generally downplays her achievements, instead arguing that other people lead "lazy lifestyles". Of her national road championship titles, she remarked: It was not really a feat. I just rode off and left them. 1996 Olympics Two months prior to the Olympics, Lynch went to North America and competed in World Cup races in Canada and the United States. She then competed in the 1996 pre-Olympic cycle tour, winning one of the stages. Once she arrived at the Olympic Village in Atlanta, she was underwhelmed by the support she received from the cycling team; most had never been to a mountain bike event. The team jersey was unsuitable for the heat and humidity. Her new bike had a hole in the bottom bracket and the neutral tech support insisting that she couldn't ride it. Her old frame was couriered over with two days to spare. Life in the village was unpleasant due to constant security checks,