Britain’s Tom Pidcock roared back after suffering a puncture to retain his Olympic men’s mountain bike title following a thrilling battle with France’s Victor Koretzky on Monday.
The 24-year-old world champion needed all his renowned bike handling skills to first claw back a 40-second deficit and then hold off Koretzky in a barnstorming last-lap battle through the trees and rocks of the 4.4km Elancourt Hill circuit.
As they went wheel-to-wheel down a narrow descent, Pidcock chose a more aggressive line through the trees and the two riders almost came together with Koretzky losing momentum.
That proved pivotal as Pidcock powered to victory in an epic race by nine seconds, although boos rang out from the partisan French crowd as he crossed the line ahead of the Frenchman.
Alan Hatherly took the bronze in what was South Africa’s first Olympic cycling medal since the country’s re-admission.
“It’s a shame (about the boos) because that’s not really the spirit of the Olympics, but I do also understand, they’re a passionate French crowd,” an exhausted Pidcock said after a race run in sweltering heat.
“But you know, they didn’t boo the rock that gave me a puncture did they,” he said, referring to the misfortune he suffered on lap four. Asked about the last-lap manoeuvre that almost certainly won him the race, Pidcock said. “I did nothing wrong. He could have also gone left (around the tree) and I would have had to go right. In this position you don’t hesitate.
“The gap was there, so I was going.”
Sunday’s women’s race was won in processional fashion by a dominant Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, sparking long and loud celebrations from the home crowd.
Around 15,000 fans clambered all across a sun-baked circuit in the hills near Versailles again on Monday, hoping to witness more French gold. But Pidcock broke their hearts. “When he came back I knew I could beat him because he made a big effort to close the gap. Unfortunately, I was a little careless in the descent,” Koretzky said. “He was very strong, he really is a great champion, but I think I could have beaten him today.”
Road professional Pidcock, who abandoned this year’s Tour de France because of Covid, looked menacing as he attacked on lap three and only Koretzky could hold his wheel.
But calamity struck the Yorkshireman when his front tyre was punctured and he needed a pit stop to change a wheel - Pidcock casually sipping from his water bottle as the mechanics frantically went about their work.
Once back in the race, Pidcock was well down but never panicked and relentlessly sliced into the deficit, before hitting the front on lap seven with Koretzky apparently tiring.
But the Frenchman was not done and he and Hatherly stayed with Pidcock as the bell signalled the final tumultuous lap. Huge roars erupted when Koretzky attacked first and gapped Pidcock but the Briton again responded before making his audacious move through the trees.
