Tome Pidcock successfully defended his Tokyo gold medal performance in Paris on Monday after winning the men’s cross-country mountain biking in a thrilling race to the finish at Élancourt Hill.
The British cyclist’s gold medal defending performance was labelled as a “sensational ride against the odds” by his team.
Mr. Pidcock’s race was in danger of unravelling when he suffered a flat front tyre on the fourth of eight laps, shortly after he had taken control of the 35-kilometre race with an attack which split the pack.
Having fallen 40 seconds behind French hope Victor Koretzky, Mr. Pidcock fought his way back to reclaim the lead with a lap-and-a-half to go.
The leading pair traded blows in the last couple of kilometres—dramatically touching wheels—before Mr. Pidcock surged forward to take the win.
After trailing Mr. Koretzky by 39 seconds earlier in the race, the man from Leeds finished the race with a time of 1:26.22, just 0.09 seconds clear of the Frenchman.
The 24-year-old raised both hands in the air and then pumped one fist after crossing the finish line.
The home crowd was heard booing after having their hopes of a French victory dashed by the world champion.
“Tom Pidcock is a two-time Gold medal winner in the #MountainBike.”
It comes after Ros Canter, Laura Collett, and Tom McEwen landed Great Britain’s first Paris gold medal in the eventing team final earlier on Monday.
The equestrian team’s win at Chateau de Versailles, just outside Paris, marks the fifth Olympic eventing team title for Team GB.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was quick to congratulate the trio on their golden victory.
Chris McAleese, Ms. Canter’s husband, who watched the event with the equestrian rider’s parents, said on Monday, “Obviously we feel elated.”
“I think the whole team, the support team in the crew, and everything else have done a stunning job to get the team to the position where it was.”
Ms. Collett also won a bronze medal in the individual eventing competition.
At the Paris Aquatic Centre earlier in the day, diving star Tom Daley won silver in the men’s synchronised 10 metres alongside teammate Noah Williams, while Adam Burgess placed second in the men’s canoe single.
Team GB now have nine medals in Paris, including four silver and three bronze.
