Fifteen thousand fans lined the track at Elancourt Hill for the men’s mountain bike race Monday in Paris and were treated to an exhilarating finish. Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock climbed back from a punctured tire to capture gold in a thrilling battle with France's Viktor Koretzky.
American Riley Amos had a great start to the race, jumping out to the second position behind Alan Hatherly. The sunny conditions led to a tight race at the start as of the top five finishers in Tokyo returned to race in Paris. Swiss riders Nino Schurte and Mathias Fluckiger were part of the lead pack after Lap 1 while reigning Olympic champion Pidcock brought up the rear in the group of 12.
Pidcock continued to improve his position through the next two laps and overtook Fluckiger in the forest section for the lead on Lap 3. France’s Koretzky charged forward with Pidcok and the two separated themselves from the pack.
A defining moment occurred when Pidcock suffered a punctured his front wheel on Lap 4. The Brit fell to ninth as he fixed the tire. At the midway mark, the lead pack sat at six -- Koretzky in front, Hatherly in second, Fluckiger in third, New Zealand’s Sam Gaze in fourth, Great Britain’s Charlie Aldridge in fifth and Pidcock and Riley tied for sixth.
The excitement in the second half of the race came from watching Pidcock climb his way back to the top. By the start of the sixth lap, the Brit sat in third, half a second behind Koretzky. By the end of the lap, Pidcock overtook Hatherly for second.
At the start of the penultimate lap, Pidcock and Hatherly closed Koretzky’s lead to five seconds. The Frenchman looked exhausted after riding in front by himself for most of the race. Right before the rock wall, Pidcock applied pressure and retook the lead.
The crowd went nuts as the three riders entered the last lap with just one second separating group. Hatherly dropped back but the gold medal sprint was on between Pidcock and Koretzky. Koretzky used the enthusiasm of the crowd to power him to the front of the trio in the climb before the rock wall. Pidcock retook the lead as they headed toward the finish.
Pidcock's winning move
In the final kilometer, Koretzky was back out in front with Pidcock chasing. Pidcock executed the winning move, taking a narrow inside line in the forest. As the two riders came back together, there was a slight touch, which caused Koretzky to unclip to avoid falling and Pidcock took off. The Brit crossed the finish line with a time of 1:26:22 to a chorus of boos to claim gold, Koretzky finished nine seconds behind him and Hatherly held on for the bronze.
Pidcock didn't know what to say after the race, “What I'm feeling right now is a bit all over the place. All I know is that I did whatever I could in that race to win.”
He is the second man to win multiple gold medals in mountain biking, joining France's Julien Absalon. He added, “The French crowds are incredible. Obviously, they're very patriotic for the French. Not so much for me. The Olympics is the biggest thing for me and to be able to just still pull that off despite what happened is pretty incredible.”
Koretzky won his first Olympic medal in this third Games, after finishing 10th in Rio and 5th in Tokyo. It's the first time France has earned medals in both men's and women's mountain biking at the same Olympic Games, after compatriot Pauline Ferrand-Prevot won the women's race on Sunday.
The Frenchman had mixed feelings after he narrowly missed out on gold. "I wasn’t far from the gold, I didn't miss by much. Thomas was very strong, 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."
He also provided his point of view on what happened at the end of the race and the touch. "(There was) some gravel on the track, and I took some with my front wheel and I lost a part of the gap I had on Tom. I’m really disappointed, this mistake cost me the gold medal. In the woods, he overtook me and took my shoe off, it was difficult to do something at this moment."
Kroetzky said he will try and enjoy the medal regardless of the color. "I’m a bit disappointed, but satisfied at the same time. There’s a lot of work behind this, many sacrifices, many moments far from home. To have a silver medal is already a beautiful reward. I’m struggling to enjoy but it might come quickly... That’s awesome, we all dream about the Olympics.”
Hatherly became the first non-European to ever win an Olympic medal in men's mountain bike. His bronze medal was his first Olympic medal as he finished 26th in Rio and 8th in Tokyo.
In his Olympic debut, U.S. rider Amos held on to finish in seventh, 1:46 behind the leaders. Countryman Christopher Blevins finished 13th, 2:44 off the lead.