Brilliant Pidcock clips in wrong, falls to last place, but still wins on the MTB; Pieterse beats Tauber in women’s race

The fact that Pidcock decided to race a mountain bike event after the Tour of Switzerland certainly faced some resistance. The INEOS Grenadiers rider is aiming for a good general classification in the Tour de France, preferably top five. While his competitors were heading to high altitudes or took some well-deserved rest, Pidcock wanted to score some mountain bike points. His coach, Kurt Bogaerts, supported this and also highlighted the importance of explosive efforts leading up to the tough opening weekend of the Tour.

Perhaps he did it on purpose for that reason, but Pidcock had to dig deep for an hour and a half in Crans-Montana to win. He clipped in wrong at the start and dropped through the entire field. After already winning in La Nucía in February and also immediately triumphing in Nové Město, Czech Republic, in May, he managed to score three out of three by fighting his way back from the last position to the front. Some key competitors for the Olympic Games were absent, but that hardly made the performance less impressive.

While Pidcock fit the mountain bike race in between other commitments, Pieterse has been building up towards the Olympic Games in Paris for months. The 22-year-old rider of Fenix-Deceuninck had already shown form in recent weeks with victories at the European Championships in Cheile Grădiștei (Romania) and last week in the Short Track in Val di Sole. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot often dominated the hour-and-a-half races on Saturdays or Sundays, but the Frenchwoman was absent on Saturday in Crans-Montana.

Thus, Pieterse could shine, although it wasn’t easy. Her lead over Alessandra Keller at the finish was only four seconds. In third place, surprisingly, was Anne Tauber. The Dutch rider recently learned she would not be going to the Olympic Games, as Pieterse and Anne Terpstra were preferred. Her podium finish in Switzerland was, in that context, a strong signal.