Tom Pidcock defended his Olympic mountain bike title in dramatic fashion as the Team GB star fought back from a puncture to clinch gold in stunning style.
Pidcock had been leading the race after four laps before disaster struck when he was forced change bikes following the mechanical issue.
The 24-year-old dropped to ninth place due to the puncture, with the British star facing a 40 second deficit to France’s Victor Koretzky at the halfway mark of the race.
Pidcock produced a stunning ride to close the gap, catching Koretzky as they entered the final lap of the race.
The duo were joined by South Africa‘s Alan Hatherly with the trio battling it out for the medals.
Tom Pidcock defended his Olympic cross-country mountain bike gold in dramatic fashion
Pidcock had been forced to fight back after a puncture left him 40 seconds off the lead
Koretzky launched an attack to distance his rivals on the final lap, but Pidcock chased back to regain contact again.
Pidcock dramatically took the lead in stunning fashion as he and Koretzky nearly colliding after the Britain audiciously overtook the Frenchman in the closing stages.
His move would prove the decisive moment with the reigning champion then sprinting to the finish to end nine seconds clear.
French star Koretzky was left settling for silver, with Hatherly ending a further two seconds behind to take bronze.
Pidcock had been booed by the home crowds at Elancourt Hill, who had been ecstatic when Koretzky had attacked on the final climb of the race.
‘It wasn’t easy, I’m keeping my glasses on for a reason,’ an emotional Pidcock told the BBC.
‘The Olympics is so special, it is like you never give up and give everything, that’s what I had to do.
‘I knew that Victor was going to be super fast on that last lap, I couldn’t get rid of him so I knew it would be a big, big fight.
Pidcock took the lead in stunning fashion as he dramatically overtook France’s Victor Koretzky
‘He left a gap and I had to go for it, that’s racing, some people might view it differently.
‘I wanted to show what sport is and never give up, it is a shame the French were booing me.’
The British star had been forced to overcome a challenging build-up to the Games after being forced to leave the Tour de France following a positive Covid-19 test.
The cyclist revealed ahead of the Olympics that he had been positive for six days.
His triumph in Paris came just 16 days after he was forced to pull out of the Tour de France.
The reigning mountain bike world champion had made this race his number one target all season.
‘I think they [my team] are all used to things going so well that my mechanic was not ready, Pidcock revealed when asked about the puncture.
‘It was my mistake in puncturing, I can’t thank everyone enough.
‘Pulling out the Tour with covid and everyone around me, we trained perfectly for this.’
