26 Jul 2021
Pidcock takes MTB Gold in Tokyo
Related riders
Tom Pidcock
Olympic Mountain Bike Race, Izu Mountain Bike Park
Tom Pidcock put in an incredible and assured ride to claim a gold medal in the Olympic Mountain Bike race.
The Brit secured the biggest victory of his career in style, making light work of the start from the fourth row, before moving into the lead group and testing the resolve of his rivals.
A pair of attacks on laps three and four saw the Swiss duo of Nino Schurter and Mathias Fluckiger distanced, with Pidcock able to control the gap back to nearest rival Fluckiger over the second half of the race.
The result was made even more special as it came just eight weeks after Pidcock suffered a broken collarbone in a training crash. The Grenadier looked smooth and composed on the bike over an extremely technical course, with an eventual winning margin of 20 seconds over Fluckiger. Spaniard David Valero Serrano claimed the bronze.
Pidcock did well to avoid the crash of rival Mathieu van der Poel following a jump on the opening lap.
The Brit secured the biggest victory of his career in style, making light work of the start from the fourth row, before moving into the lead group and testing the resolve of his rivals.
A pair of attacks on laps three and four saw the Swiss duo of Nino Schurter and Mathias Fluckiger distanced, with Pidcock able to control the gap back to nearest rival Fluckiger over the second half of the race.
The result was made even more special as it came just eight weeks after Pidcock suffered a broken collarbone in a training crash. The Grenadier looked smooth and composed on the bike over an extremely technical course, with an eventual winning margin of 20 seconds over Fluckiger. Spaniard David Valero Serrano claimed the bronze.
Pidcock did well to avoid the crash of rival Mathieu van der Poel following a jump on the opening lap.
Reaction
- Tom Pidcock
"It's unbelievable really. To keep myself calm I was just telling myself I'm going to become an Olympian - and now I'm an Olympic champion! It's incredible. Everyone works so hard for the Olympics and it's unbelievable really.
"Late last year was the first time I did a World Cup in mountain bike so it hasn't been a dream for that long. But I've worked so hard for it.
- Tom Pidcock
"It's unbelievable really. To keep myself calm I was just telling myself I'm going to become an Olympian - and now I'm an Olympic champion! It's incredible. Everyone works so hard for the Olympics and it's unbelievable really.
"Late last year was the first time I did a World Cup in mountain bike so it hasn't been a dream for that long. But I've worked so hard for it.
"It’s been really hard (since the injury). I haven’t done a good race since but I trained really hard. I knew I was in great shape but there’s always doubt. Once the race started I knew I was in a good place. (With the heat) obviously I didn’t feel good but everyone just told me no one is going to feel good.
"Once the race gets going it becomes routine really. The nerves go and it's just gameface."
"Once the race gets going it becomes routine really. The nerves go and it's just gameface."
