In the most important race of life, tom pidcock He had plenty of time to enjoy the party. At the last corner, he grabbed the flag with his Union Jack, he put it on his shoulders and crossed the finish line in a parade, becoming Olympic MTB champion in Tokyo. Phenomenon.
The somersault of VdP
The Izu Mtb Course played a bad joke, however, on the other great expected protagonist, Mathieu van der Poel, He had a frightening crash in the first of seven scheduled laps. The Dutch ace lost more than a minute to his British rival, but gritted his teeth and tried to catch up. However, he was forced to abandon the race when the pain prevented him from chasing the pack.
An error due to a technical detail of the route. In practice, after the reconnaissance in recent days, a footbridge was removed. and the new conformation of the terrain deceived Raymond Poulidor's nephew, shattering his dreams of glory.
The pursuit of MTB
After a spring that saw him win the Brabant Arrow and then lose in a photo finish both the Amstel Gold Race (from Van Aert) and the MTB World Cup stage in Moravia (at Van der Poel), Pidcock didn't lose heart. And here comes the summer flash that turns his career around.
From the under-23 world title to the Olympic gem in Japan, recovering from the bad fall in early June with a broken collarbone that had seriously put his participation in doubt. Instead, here he is in triumph, giving Great Britain their third gold medal of the day after Adam Peaty in the 100m breaststroke and the diving duo of Tom Daley and Matty Lee. from the 10-meter platform.
"This competition has nothing to do with anything I've done in the past. The Olympics transcend any sport, because you represent a country and an entire nation is on your shoulders, without making distinctions between disciplines," said the champion. Team Ineos (second gold after that of carapaz) – It's pure national pride: it's incredible." Then, regarding his lightning-fast recovery from the injury, he added: "It was a difficult time. I broke my collarbone, and it's incredible to be here now on the top step of the podium."
An aggressive race
The aggressive racing tactic? A trademark. "I like to take control of the race. I choose my lines, I set my pace. – explains Tom – Once we got going I felt good, all the nerves disappeared and I concentrated. It's a good thing this stuff (he used a much more colorful term, which we cannot reproduce, ed.) happens every four years because it's damn (imagine another more heated term here too, ed.) a bit stressful. It's sad that my mom and girlfriend can't be here, but I can't wait to see them: I know they are crying with joy at home."
Completing the podium were the Swiss Mathias Flueckiger (silver) and the Spanish David Valero Serrano (bronze). “Only” fourth for the king of cross country: nino schurter who at the age of 35 will perhaps have to definitively abdicate this leadership he has held for so long.
Faded blue
The best of the Azzurri was Gerhard Kerschbaumer, twentieth.
"You don't have to be strong just at the beginning," the South Tyrolean said sadly, "but also at the end. I wasn't 100%, perhaps because I listened too much to other people during the preparation for the Games, and that was a mistake. In the future, I'll listen more to myself." They also disappoint. Luca Braidot, 25 ° e Nadir Colledani, even 34 °.
Tomorrow it's the women's turn. At the start for Italy there will be Eva Lechner.
