PIDCOCK SUMMITS WITH TOKYO GOLD
MOUNTAIN BIKER BEATS ODDS AFTER HORROR CRASH IN MAY
TOM PIDCOCK produced a sensational ride to win Great Britain’s firstever Olympic mountain bike gold medal, just two months after a horror crash that left him with a broken collarbone.
With the likes of Geraint Thomas, Adam Yates and Lizzie Deignan having suffered disappointment on the road, the assumption was that the British cycling powerhouse might have to wait until the start of competition in the velodrome next week to begin its hoped-for medal rush.
But on the dirt of the Izu MTB Course, Pidcock had other ideas as he secured Britain’s first medal of any kind since the event’s Olympic debut in 1996.
The 21-year-old also became the sport’s youngest Olympic champion, with Switzerland’s Mathias Fluckiger taking silver and David Valero Serrano, of Spain, the bronze.
“It’s nothing like any other race, the Olympics just transcends any sport,” Pidcock said. “You compete and represent your country and everyone in your country is behind you, no matter what sports they like. It’s just national pride, it’s unbelievable.
“I know that my mum and girlfriend are crying at home. It’s sad that they can’t be here but I’ll see them when I get home.”
Pidcock started the race from 29th on the grid but weaved his way through the field in the early stages of the 28.25km contest, making up 26 places on the start loop, though he was lucky to avoid a crash when Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, fresh from a stage win on the Tour de France, went over his handlebars and took a crunching fall.
Yorkshireman Pidcock had only secured his place in Tokyo with a sensational win at the Nove Mesto leg of the Mountain Bike World Cup in May, but just weeks later his Olympic ambitions were threatened when he was hit by a car side-on while out training on his bike.
His injuries meant he briefly feared his Tokyo dream was over, but swift surgery meant he was back riding within days.
Like Van der Poel, Pidcock started his season on the road, with Ineos Grenadiers, picking up his first professional win at the Brabanste Pijl in April, where he beat Olympic road race silver medalist Wout van Aert of Belgium in a sprint. Having watched Ecuadorian teammate Richard Carapaz win gold ahead of Van Aert with a gusty attack off the front in the men’s road race on Saturday, Pidcock set about chasing gold with similar aggression.
“I’m always better when I take control myself,” he said. “I take my own lines, my own speed. Once we started I was fine, all the nerves went and I concentrated on the race.”
After stealing past Swiss pair Nino Schurter, an eight-time world champion, and Fluckiger, the trio briefly looked set to form an alliance, but when neither of his rivals fancied pulling through to do their share of the donkey work, Pidcock surged again and this time he would never come back. The gap grew to six seconds at the end of lap four and then 12 by the bell, with Fluckiger trying in vain to reel him in.
By the final turn his lead was more than 20sec, and he had time to grab a Union Flag and raise it aloft on the final, leisurely pedal to the line.
“It’s been a such a hard time coming here from crashing and breaking my collarbone and that’s just unbelievable,” he added. “I’m happy [the Olympic Games] is only every four years because it’s stressful!”
There will surely now be mass debate about where the future lies for an all-rounder who has also been world junior champion over time trials and cyclocross. In Olympic terms, he has already pedalled Britain into new territory.
It’s been such a hard time coming here from crashing and breaking my collarbone ... that’s just unbelievable