What do people think of the MTB course? Pieterse is cautious, Pidcock finds it boring: "Almost all gravel"

Paris, northern France. Tonight officially marks the start of the 2024 Olympic Games. In mountain biking, Tom Pidcock for the men and Puck Pieterse for the women are the ones to watch. What do they think of the course? Both athletes have quite an opinion on it. Particularly, Pidcock has a lot to criticize about the route that the mountain bikers have to tackle.

Pieterse spoke to NOS. "There are a few rocks where you can puncture if you're too clumsy," she said. Not too difficult, that’s her overall assessment. There are quite a few elevation changes, but the difficulty is manageable according to the 22-year-old. "It feels fine. There’s a lot of gravel, which makes it slippery, especially in the corners, so you have to be careful. You need to carry your speed through the corners and not be afraid of sliding on the slick surface. I need to make a difference on the steep section when it’s explosive. There’s a lot possible there."

Pidcock critical of the Paris course: "It could have been more challenging"

While Pieterse already views the course with a fairly critical eye, Pidcock is even more pointed in his critique. He considers the Paris course "not really a mountain bike course," he told Cycling Weekly. "It's actually quite boring, it’s just all gravel. They could have built a more challenging course. It’s not the best course in the world, but it’s the same for everyone, so...," the small Brit stated.

"We love mountain biking for the reasons that make us enjoy it as it is. That's the courses you get to ride, the places you get to go. If you’re just riding over a nice hill, it’s not really mountain biking," Pidcock continues. His teammate Evie Richards is more moderate: "I don’t think it’s not difficult enough. I think it’s challenging to build a course so close to the city," concludes the other British representative in Paris.

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