Lizzie Armitstead's family have expressed their delight after she claimed Great Britain's first medal of London 2012.
Her mother Carol Armitstead said she was "so proud" of her daughter, who did not get into cycling until she was 16.
The cyclist claimed silver in the women's road race.
Speaking from the finish line on The Mall, Mrs Armitstead said: "It is more than we can have hoped for."
Her tearful grandfather Ray Dunn added: "I was disappointed and delighted - I knew she wanted the gold. I am tearful, I am delighted."
Her grandmother, Marjorie Dunn, sporting a t shirt with "I'm Lizzie's Grandma" emblazoned across the front, added: "A granddaughter who is an Olympian is something very, very special."
Mrs Armitstead continued: "It is wonderful, they deserved it. We just kept saying: 'Come Lizzie, come on'. I knew she could do it. I knew how much she wanted it.
"We are so proud. Silver medal, it is more than we could hope for.
"We knew from 35K down that, providing that bunch didn't catch them, she was in for a medal, but which one was it going to be?"
Mrs Armitstead added that her daughter was a slow starter and only started cycling aged 16, even though she loved sport all her life.
Mrs Dunn said she had not been able to sleep in recent days with the excitement of the race looming.
"I thought: 'I hope she is sleeping'," she said.
"I know she has done her best. When she was cycling she had a smile on her face.
"She enjoyed that race. It showed in her body, the way she moved. She is so professional and that is another side of Lizzie that I admire."
