‘I came here to win’ – Tom Pidcock takes gold in dramatic men’s mountain biking

Tom Pidcock insisted before the defence of his Olympic mountain bike title that only one medal interested him in Paris, and his determination to take gold shone through as he fought back from a puncture to deny French hope Victor Koretzky in a pulsating race on Elancourt Hill.

The reigning world champion recovered from a poor start to take the lead on the third of eight laps in this 35.2km race with Koretzky the only man who could follow his attacks, but his race was in danger of unravelling when he suffered a flat front tyre soon after.

The incident happened close to the pits – anywhere else it could have ended his race – but his mechanic was not ready for him and after a slow change Pidcock fell 40 seconds behind Koretzky to the delight of the home crowds.

Pidcock, who pulled out of the Tour de France suffering with Covid only 16 days ago, fought his way to reclaim the lead with a lap and a half to go but no longer had the reserves to distance Koretzky.

The pair traded blows over a thrilling final lap, touching in the last kilometre as Pidcock saw a gap and stole in front to take the win.

“The point of the Olympics is to do excellence – it’s one of the values of the Olympics,” said Pidcock, who will now target next week’s road race. “I didn’t want to give up. My goal was to go to the front. I came here to win. That is all I was thinking about.”

Pidcock, who turns 25 on Tuesday, has built his entire season around this race. A Tour de France stage winner and world champion in multiple disciplines, he made the defence of this title a priority from the moment he won it at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

“I think it’s my most emotionally draining victory,” he said. “The build-up, it’s such a long time in my head and then you’re waiting all week, the training, it builds up and builds up. It’s not until you cross the finish line that it all pours out.”

Pidcock was slow off the line, dropping back to 12th place before working his way back. That effort seemed to be paying off as he took control of the race, only to hit a rock and puncture – an incident he acknowledged as his own mistake.

As his mechanic scrambled to grab a spare wheel, Pidcock calmly stood and took a drink, recalculating his race strategy.

“What’s the point in stressing?” he said. “I have had enough stress this week.”

Pidcock was booed by some in the crowd as he emerged from the woods ahead of Koretzky, but their collision was reviewed by the UCI race commissaire with no fault found, a verdict Koretzky was happy to accept.

“I didn’t know he was on the left, he touched me and I almost crashed, (but) I think it’s part of the race,” Koretzky said. “We all want the gold and we all fight for the gold. After his puncture he showed everyone he was strong today.”

Pidcock, who last year quoted Ayrton Senna when criticised by rival Luca Schwarzbauer for aggressive racing at the world championships in Scotland, said: “In this position, you don’t hesitate. The gap was there and I was going for it.”

Charlie Aldridge finished eighth on his Olympic debut, having stayed within touching distance of the medal battle before a crash on the penultimate lap.

“Just the usual Charlie antics!” the 23-year-old Scot said. “That was fun. It’s not every day you ride the Olympics. I was super happy. It hurt a lot but it was a great experience and I’m really proud of my result.

“Tom is one of a kind for sure. Maybe that will be me in the future. He’s an inspiration.”