Even stoic Pidcock gets emotional after a bizarre comeback and boos from very bold action

What a race Victor Koretzky rode in the mountain bike race at the Olympics. Until the last minute of the race, the Frenchman seemed to be on his way to beating Tom Pidcock, were it not for the outsider getting beaten by a trick from the Brit. For a while, there was debate about whether that move was according to the rules. However, the winner and the loser had no problem with it afterward.

"I made a small, careless mistake during the descent. My bike hit some gravel, and that mistake cost me the gold," said the silver medalist Koretzky. He referred to the moment just before the decisive moment in the race. The Frenchman was in front but broke down in a bend, allowing Pidcock, who was closing in on him, to get right back in. The footage below shows that moment. Otherwise, Koretzky could have been heading for the gold....

Read more below the video

Koretzky doesn't blame Pidcock: "A great champion"

But it didn't happen that way. Both men stayed together for the remainder, though Koretzky seemed to be the better of the Briton on pure power. Then Pidcock devised a trick, getting ahead of his opponent on a crucial turn. Creating enough distance to go for gold. Koretzky could not make much of it afterward. Other than that, the gold medalist made a bold and instinctive move. "In the forest, Pidcock touched me, and with that, my shoe got loose," he explained why he was suddenly quite a bit behind in the last few hundred meters. "It was hard to do anything after that, but he's a great champion."

Nice words from the silver Koretsky, who was logically the big favorite in front of his crowd. Pidcock was booed en masse at the finish by those along the course. "The support from the French was all for him, bud, sadly not for me," said the winner, somewhat jokingly about it. "This was not easy; the Olympics are so special. This shows that you should never give up, and I knew I had to keep fighting. Viktor went super hard in the last lap, but I wanted to turn up the heat. He left a gap, and I had to go for it. That's racing, that's sport."

"I do feel sorry for Viktor," Pidcock, who was visibly emotional, continued. "Contact is part of it, though, and I did that. It's no different at the Olympics. You have to go all in. At the Games, so many things go through your head. I had a lot of different emotions and played out all kinds of scenarios. You're already completely exhausted when you're on the starting line."

Read more below the video

Pidcock stayed calm after flat tire

Pidcock's emotions had built up after he punctured in the opening stage. "I said this week that if I had a flat, I would say "f*ck" three times and then keep going. If I stayed calm, I knew anything was still possible. No spare wheel was waiting for me at the equipment station, but luckily, it was quickly solved. Five laps left at fifty minutes, so I knew anything was still possible. I was happy when I returned close to Viktor, but I knew how good his last lap could be."

He saved it, in his own words, by pure racing. A second gold plaque in a row, and that after he had to give up in the Tour de France with a corona infection. "I can't thank everyone enough. My bike was, apart from the flat tire, perfect. Everyone supported me after the Tour, and we prepared perfectly for this. It's super nice to have my family and friends here. I did everything possible to win the race. The Olympics are the most important thing for me, and getting the second gold medal is incredible."