Brilliant Pidcock waits, gets a flat, chases, and comes out on top in thrilling Olympic mountain bike race

The relatively small field started at 2:10 PM in the French heat. While the women completed seven laps yesterday, the men had to do eight. In the first meters, we saw Pidcock stumble a bit, causing him to fall back in the initial lap. He passed the first point in twelfth place, so the Brit had to start a comeback. The South African Alan Hatherley and the American Riley Amos took the lead here. The group stayed together, and no one broke away early on.

Pidcock didn’t have it easy and moved up with considerable effort. The Swiss rider Mathias Flückiger accelerated in the second lap and got a response from the French Victor Koretzky. The British favorite settled into third place, and gaps gradually began to form behind him. With about eight riders together, we entered the third lap, where the French crowd, just like yesterday, created a great atmosphere.

In the third lap, Pidcock really stepped on the gas for the first time, and the real pecking order became quite clear. Koretzky wanted to go along and did, while the Swiss riders Flückiger and Nino Schurter, as well as Amos and Hatherley, had to drop back. It seemed a duel was imminent until Pidcock suddenly disappeared from sight. The reigning champion had a flat front tire and had to enter the pit zone. He quickly got a new wheel and still had plenty of time to make up for it, but the INEOS Grenadiers rider had to go all out in the chase.

Pidcock’s deficit, as he quickly caught up to Schurter, was 35 seconds. Initially, he didn’t reduce it much, but he looked very calm. Koretzky was solo in the lead at that point, with Hatherley about ten seconds behind entering the fourth lap. The gaps stayed the same for quite a while, so time was running out for the top favorite to deliver. He did slip past the chasers, but the two men ahead of the larger group held on well.

The sixth lap had to be the decisive one for Pidcock, and he really picked up the pace. Hatherley slowly lost ground on Koretzky, Pidcock gained ten seconds and was 27 seconds behind. He dropped Flückiger on an uphill section and got Hatherley in his sights. Was gold still possible? It seemed so. Hatherley stayed in the British all-rounder’s wheel, and together they slowly closed the gap.

Halfway through the seventh lap, Pidcock could almost touch Koretzky’s rear wheel. He used the second uphill section of the lap to shake off Hatherley, and the Frenchman managed to keep up. Entering the final lap, the South African returned, and so we entered the end of the race with three men. On the first climb of the final lap, Pidcock made a first attempt to get away, but it didn’t succeed.

Thus, the steel nerves of the Tokyo Olympic champion were tested. Hatherley had to concede about ten meters to the power of the British springboard, while Koretzky stuck to his wheel and challenged Pidcock until the end. In fact, the Frenchman took off! He sped away and put ten meters between himself and his British opponent. However, the picture quickly changed again when the Frenchman made a mistake, and the favorite returned.

Koretzky seemed stronger in terms of power, so the Brit had to come up with a trick. In a wooded section, Pidcock then chose a daring line on the right side of a tree. This move was enough to finally shake off Koretzky. The moment showcased Pidcock’s cleverness and killer instinct. The Frenchman was defeated in the last stretch through the woods, immediately fell back with a significant gap, and finished nine seconds behind. Hatherley came in third, eleven seconds behind. Pidcock’s daring move drew some boos from the French, but the Brit ultimately managed to extend his title in the end.