GOLDEN TICKET

The bikes that won the Olympics TOM PIDCOCK’S BMC FOURSTROKE

Last month Tom Pidcock told us he was going to win the Olympics. He was confident in his form and ability, and undeterred by the collarbone break he sustained just eight weeks before the race in Tokyo. You probably already know the rest – Pidcock took control of the race halfway through and smashed the field apart, winning by 20 seconds. It would be Great Britain’s first Olympic medal in mountain biking.

Less certain though, was

Pidock’s choice of bike. Team GB doesn’t have a mountain bike supplier, instead riders typically choose something from their own team or sponsor’s stable. All very well if you ride for someone like Trek Factory Racing, as Evie Richards does on its own XC bike.

Not so helpful if you race for road team Ineos Grenadiers, like Pidcock. Ineos emerged from Team Sky, the squad that propelled Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas, and Sir Bradley Wiggins to Tour de France victories, it’s sponsored by Pinarello, and that very much makes it a roadriding outfit without an XC bike in its quiver.

Credit to Ineos then, that it let its young prodigy race the Olympics on someone else’s bike, a brand he had no sponsorship relationship with… but who’s?

Step forward Specialized.

And Scott. And BMC. The Yorkshireman could have raced on bikes from any of those brands, he certainly has experience racing on the Specialized Epic with his erstwhile Trinity Racing team. We’ve no idea though if he tested out the Epic for the Olympics, but what we do know is that

Scott sent Pidcock a new Spark in preparation for Tokyo, which makes it very interesting indeed that the 21-year-old eventually opted for the BMC.

Pidcock is serious about set-up. Just watch his Youtube video detailing the team’s week

in Banyoles earlier this year, experimenting with multiple set-ups for the bike, dialling in the right bar height, suspension set-up and choice of wheels. Given that attention to detail then it’s not a stretch to suggest he picked the BMC Fourstroke because it’s the better bike for him. Perhaps he figured it would work best for him on the technical Olympic course. This is what makes the choice so fascinating… and so unique.

Tom Pidcock raced on a de-badged BMC Fourstroke 01 with 100mm travel through an SR Suntour Edge shock with lockout, and a full carbon frame dropping the weight to 10.3kg. The bike also features BMC’S integrated Race Application Dropper post with 90mm travel, one possible explanation for Pidcock’s choice of bike, given just how technical the descents were. There’s no visible lockout cable coming from the 100mm SR Suntour Axon-werx34 Boost EQ fork, however Suntour has confirmed to mbr that this is a new electric system, presumably with a wireless connection. Could it be a rival to Fox’s Live Valve where the fork’s compression damping automatically adjusts in real time? Perhaps, but the more likely option is an electronic compression platform as the suspension was still active on the climbs.

Pidcock opted for Scott’s component brand Syncros for its Silverton SL carbon wheels with co-moulded carbon spokes, and onepiece Integrated Cockpit bar and stem ensemble, the Syncros Fraser IC SL SE, finished off with ESI silicone grips. A closer look at the wheelset shows Pidcock was running prototype tyres from Continental. The tread pattern reveals it to be a version of the Race King tyre, and given just how hard he landed on the big drop where Mathieu van der Poel crashed, there must be some sidewall protection or tyre insert in the mix.